KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — U.S. Senator Bill Frist, the first physician elected to the Senate in almost 70 years, is scheduled to deliver the fall commencement address at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
UT-Knoxville Chancellor Bill Snyder said Frist has accepted his invitation to speak at commencement exercises beginning at 9 a.m., Dec. 20, in the Thompson-Boling Assembly Center and Arena.
Frist, a heart and lung transplant surgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center prior to his election, has been a leader in health care and science and technology issues.
He helped draft and pass health care legislation that established the portability of health insurance and another law that guaranteed 48 hours of insurance protection for mothers and their newborn infants.
Frist, who has promised to serve no more than two terms, also has been an advocate for Congressional term limits and a leader in efforts to save Medicare and balance the federal budget.
In the Senatem, Frist is a member of the committees on banking; budget; commerce, science and technology; foreign relations; labor; and small business. He chairs the subcommittee on science, technology and space.
—
Contact: Dr. Bill Snyder (423-974-3288)