Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse will give the commencement address at the York College graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 5. More than 90 students are expected to receive their diplomas during the spring commencement ceremony, which will be held at 10 a.m. in the Campbell Activity Center (corner of 10th and Mayhew Ave.) on the York College campus.


Ben Sasse was elected to the senate in 2014. A fifth-generation Nebraskan, Sasse holds degrees from Harvard and Yale. His dissertation, The Anti-Madalyn Majority: Secular Left, Religious Right, and the Rise of Reagan's America, won the Theron Rockwell Field and George Washington Egleston Prizes.

Sasse served for five years as president of Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, prior to his time in the senate. Most of his career has been spent guiding companies and institutions through times of crisis. He has worked with the Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey and Company, as well as private equity firms and not-for-profit organizations. He has also taught at the University of Texas and served as an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He is the author of the book The Vanishing American Adult


The commencement ceremony at York College will run approximately two hours and will include a performance by the Concert Choir in addition to Sasse’s comments. 

The doors will open one hour prior to the ceremony for guests. No tickets are required. The event is open to the public, with seating on a first come, first served basis. No reserved seating is permitted, with the exception of seating arranged before the event for individuals with special needs. If you need to make such arrangements, please contact Melanie Towell at (402) 363-5614 at least 48-hours prior to the event.