Released November 4, 2009

(Columbia, MD) – Thomas Perez, U.S. Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, will speak this Sunday, November 8, at the high school Diploma Recognition Ceremony at Howard Community College (HCC).

The annual ceremony honors students who have participated in HCC’s General Educational Development (GED) Program or National External Diploma Program (NEDP) in the college’s Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development and successfully earned their Maryland high school diploma. This year’s cohort numbers about 70, of which approximately 30 will attend the Sunday event.

Perez previously served as the Secretary of Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which protects consumers by enforcing a wide range of consumer rights laws, including those covering mortgages, workplace safety, wages, and workforce issues. He was principal architect of a sweeping package of state lending and foreclosure reforms addressing the foreclosure crisis in Maryland.

A first-generation Dominican-American, Perez has spent his entire career in public service and civil rights for the U.S. Government, including service under Attorney General Janet Reno, under Senator Edward Kennedy, and in the Clinton Administration.

He received his Bachelor’s degree from Brown University, a Master’s in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a Doctorate from Harvard.

The ceremony is free of charge and will take place at 3:00 p.m. in Smith Theatre on the HCC main campus at 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, in Columbia.

For more information, call Becky Lessey at 410-772-4982.

About HCC
Howard Community College (HCC) is a publicly funded two-year community college serving the educational needs of the citizens and employers in Howard County, Maryland since 1970. With its slogan, “You Can Get There from Here,” the college has forged a variety of partnerships to offer career and transfer programs to over 28,000 students annually at its main campus in Columbia, the Ecker Business Training Center, Laurel College Center, and the historic Belmont Conference Center. Located midway between two major metropolitan areas, Washington DC and Baltimore, MD, Howard Community College is an affordable, community-based institution that has long been recognized for its ability to inspire learning, and the lifelong pursuit of personal and professional goals. Among its many awards is the prestigious U.S. Senate Productivity Award for organizational performance excellence.