Marquette Unviersity Commissions ROTC Students Released: May 16, 2006 Event Information Date: Saturday, May 20, 2006 Time: 10 a.m. Place: Weasler Auditorium           1506 W. Wisconsin Ave. In a joint ceremony, Marquette University's Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) students will be honored at the 52nd Annual Spring Commissioning Ceremony and Reception on Saturday, May 20 at the Weasler Auditorium, adjacent to the Alumni Memorial Union. The ceremony will formally commission the 54 graduating seniors in the ROTC programs as second lieutenants and ensigns. This year's senior class includes 22 students in Army, 16 in Navy, 11 in Air Force and five in Marines. The commissioning program's keynote speaker will be Brigadier General Kerry G. Denson, Wisconsin’s deputy adjutant general for the Wisconsin Army National Guard. Gen. Denson has flown over 10,000 hours, 1277 of them in combat. He has served two combat tours in Vietnam, where he was assigned as a platoon commander and section leader in helicopter battalions and has also served as a flight instructor at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. His military awards include the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and many others. Gen. Denson graduated from Oregon High School in Oregon, Wis.  He earned a bachelor’s degree from Milton College in business administration. Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., president of Marquette University and Michael McKinney, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will also deliver remarks at the ceremony. Marquette University's ROTC tradition dates back to the 1940s, when the Navy unit was established on campus in accord with the national spirit of being ready in the event of a serious emergency.   Marquette was the twelfth program to be established in the country and the first to be formed at a Catholic university ***PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Some students will be available for interviews after the ceremony takes place.  Many of the individuals who are being commissioned have already been informed of their duty assignments. Office of Marketing and Communication Contacts Brigid O'Brien Miller Director of University Communication Phone: (414) 288-7445 Send e-mail