search articles:     from the issue of December 14, 2006         Sen. Hagel to address graduates  UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., will give the address at UNL's Dec. 16 commencement exercises.   Hagel   Chancellor Harvey Perlman will preside at the exercises, which begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Approximately 1,300 students will receive degrees. Because of construction of the Antelope Valley Project south of the Devaney Center, those planning to attend commencement exercises are urged to use the 27th Street entrance to State Fair Park to get to the Devaney Center. Shuttle service will be available to and from parking areas. Hagel, Nebraska's senior senator, is in his second term. His duties include membership on four Senate committees: Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Intelligence and Rules. Hagel is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion Subcommittee and the Senate Banking Securities and Investment Subcommittee. He serves as the chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Prior to his election to the Senate in 1996, Hagel was president of McCarthy and Co., an investment banking firm based in Omaha, and served as chairman of the board of American Information Systems. Before joining McCarthy and Co., Hagel was president and chief executive officer of the Private Sector Council in Washington, D.C., deputy director and chief operating officer of the 1990 Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations (G-7 Summit) and president and chief executive officer of the World USO. In the mid-1980s, Hagel co-founded VANGUARD Cellular Systems Inc., a publicly traded corporation. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Hagel to serve as deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration, a nomination confirmed by the Senate. From 1977 through 1980, Hagel was manager of government affairs for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. in Washington, D.C. From 1971 to 1977, he was administrative assistant to U.S. Rep. John Y. McCollister, R-Neb. Beginning in 1969, Hagel worked as a radio newscaster and talk show host in Omaha. Hagel served in Vietnam with his brother Tom in 1968. They served side by side as squad leaders with the Army's 9th Infantry Division. Hagel earned many military decorations and honors, including two Purple Hearts. He is the subject of the 2006 biography by UNL journalism professor Charlyne Berens, "Chuck Hagel: Moving Forward." A fourth generation Nebraskan, Hagel was born in North Platte Oct. 4, 1946. He graduated from St. Bonaventure High School in Columbus, the Brown Institute for Radio and Television in Minneapolis and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. December UNL doctoral candidates will be honored in a hooding ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 15 in Kimball Recital Hall, 12th and R streets. Doctoral candidates will receive their diplomas at the Dec. 16 commencement exercises. A drop-off area for graduates and mobility-restricted guests will be available on the south side of the Devaney Center on Dec. 16. Sign language interpreters for hearing impaired individuals will be provided on-screen by HuskerVision. Guests in wheelchairs will be seated on the northeast corner of the arena floor or in section B-11. Golf carts will be located at the ramps on the exterior north and south sides of the Devaney Center to assist disabled guests entering and leaving the building. Admission is free to the hooding and commencement ceremonies. Tickets are not required. GO TO: ISSUE OF DECEMBER 14 NEWS HEADLINES FOR DECEMBER 14 Project uncovers DNA-like ice structures Gifts of Love offers opportunity Sen. Hagel to address graduates UNL prof testifies against Hussein Carr, Stump knighted by French government Group studies Great Plains fire history begins Housing puts lottery system into play Quality indicators track UNL progress Student depth reporting team headed to Berlin 732659S36532X