Fannie Mae Chairman and CEO Franklin D. Raines will speak at the University of Maryland commencement on Thursday, May 22. The graduation ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. in the Comcast Center.
"I am honored that Franklin Raines has agreed to deliver the spring commencement address," says University of Maryland President C.D. Mote Jr. "He is often called the most successful chief executive of a Fortune 500 company, and his story highlights the very best in American business."
Raines graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and continued his education at Harvard Law School, graduating cum laude. He was also a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.
From 1991-1996 Raines served as vice chairman of Fannie Mae, the largest non-bank financial services company in the world. He is credited with helping to create an electronic system that aids loan counselors with repairing credit for prospective home buyers.
Raines joined the Clinton administration in 1996 as director of the Office of Management and Budget. He became a key player in developing and implementing the balanced budget amendment, and was the first OMB director in a generation to balance the federal budget.
In 1999 Raines left politics to become Chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae. Under his leadership the corporation has continued its record of double-digit income growth, expanded its product and technology leadership, and committed to invest in affordable homeownership and rental housing for 18 million families.
Raines was awarded the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award and the King Center Salute to Greatness in 2001, and the National Urban League National Public Service Award in 2000. He is the first African American to head a Fortune 500 corporation.
"We are honored by his willingness to address our graduates, their families and the entire university community," says Mote.
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