“Senator Obama’s tireless work as a civil rights attorney and his diligent legislative efforts on behalf of veterans, working families, children and the environment resonate deeply with our campus’ urban mission,” UMass Boston Chancellor Michael F. Collins, MD, said. “He will be addressing New England’s most diverse public university with a faculty and student body who share his commitment to public service and America’s future.”
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Sen. Obama has dedicated his life to public service as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and leader in the Illinois state Senate, where he served for seven years. Sen. Obama serves on the Senate’s important Environment and Public Works Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Sen. Obama is the only African American now serving in that assembly, and the fifth in U.S. history. The Senator is especially proud of being a husband and father of two daughters, Malia, 7 and Sasha, 4. Sen. Obama and his wife, Michelle, married in 1992 and live on Chicago’s South Side.
Sen. Obama received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University and then moved to Chicago to work as a South Side community organizer. He returned east to study law at Harvard University, serving as the first-ever black editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduating with honors. Sen. Obama was a member of the Illinois state senate for seven years, working with both Democrats and Republicans to create and enact legislation designed to benefit the working poor and other marginalized groups. Notable among these measures was an earned-income tax credit that resulted in significant tax cuts for Illinois families.
University of Massachusetts Boston: News Release Senator Obama