Senator Cardin, official portrait in Washington, DC on September 12, 2024. (Official U.S. Senate photo by Rosa Pineda)

WYE MILLS – Former U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin will deliver the Commencement 2025 address at Chesapeake College on Wednesday, May 21.

A third-generation Marylander, Mr. Cardin has dedicated his life to public service. He recently concluded three terms in the United States Senate, following 20 years in the House of Representatives and 20 years in the Maryland House of Delegates, including eight years as Speaker. Throughout his legislative career, Mr. Cardin was known for his civility and ability to work across party lines to foster compromise and achieve results.

Most recently, Mr. Cardin served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he focused on integrating democracy, anti-corruption, good governance, and respect for civil and human rights into American national security. He authored the Global Magnitsky Human Rights and Accountability Act, which transformed the United States’ capacity to hold accountable individuals responsible for gross human rights violations and significant corruption.

Mr. Cardin has been a staunch defender of the Chesapeake Bay throughout his career, advocating for state and federal policies that improve the economy, the environment, create job opportunities, and support small businesses, while bolstering the middle class and supporting our most vulnerable citizens.

Mr. Cardin was a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, where he reformed retirement policy to facilitate savings for lower- and middle-income individuals, continuing his bipartisan efforts from the House Ways and Means Committee. He authored tax provisions to encourage local investments in affordable housing and worked to expand access to affordable, quality health coverage, telehealth services, and guaranteed dental care for children. He also offered proposals to streamline student loan forgiveness for public servants and bolster federal funding for public education. As the former ranking member and chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, Mr. Cardin helped draft the Payroll Protection Act, which injected hundreds of millions of dollars into American small businesses during the height of the pandemic, saving countless jobs and helping to avert a recession.

In his advocacy for civil rights and equity, Mr. Cardin, who served on the Senate Judiciary Committee through two Supreme Court confirmation hearings, sought to balance the protection of civil liberties with national security. He led efforts to pass legislation prohibiting racial and religious profiling by law enforcement, restoring voting rights for former felons, and removing the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.