Dave Hunt, past president of American Baptist Churches USA and former speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, will present the baccalaureate address to the Linfield College Class of 2014. Baccalaureate will be held Saturday, May 31, at 5 p.m. in Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
Hunt is the son of a Linfield alumnus and American Baptist pastor. He was raised in Seattle, Wash.; Clearfield, Utah; and Eugene. He majored in political science at Columbia University and served as a congressional staffer for three members of Congress over a 10-year period. He served for 16 years on the general board of American Baptist Churches USA, where he was elected as the youngest-ever ABC/USA president.
Hunt was elected to five terms in the Oregon House of Representatives, where his legislative colleagues elected him majority leader and speaker of the house. Under his leadership, the house passed the largest jobs package in Oregon history, expanded health insurance to 90,000 uninsured Oregon children, created Oregon’s first Rainy Day Fund, and passed two historic laws expanding religious liberty.
Hunt is currently the president-elect of the Oregon City Rotary Club, a member of Southlake Church, and serves as executive director of the Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition, an association of 160 manufacturers throughout the Northwest. He lives in Clackamas County with his wife Tonia, who is executive director of Children First for Oregon. They have two teenage children.
Baccalaureate has existed for centuries in colleges and universities as a time of worship for graduating members of the senior class. College officials, faculty and graduating seniors wear academic dress for the occasion. Linfield’s baccalaureate service is ordered according to the traditions within Protestant Christianity and strives to touch on the universal theme of common humanity that can be found in all of the world’s great religions.
For more information, contact David Massey, Linfield Chaplain, 503-883-2259, dmassey@linfield.edu.
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