President-elect Barack Obama has tapped former Iowa governor and Hamilton alumnus Thomas J. Vilsack '72 to be his secretary of agriculture. He introduced Vilsack on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at a news conference in Chicago. According to The New York Times, "Mr. Obama particularly praised Mr. Vilsack's advocacy of biotech and his work to foster 'an agricultural economy of the future that not only grows the food we eat but the energy we use.'"
"Tom Vilsack was one of the first people I met when I got to Hamilton," said Steve Wulf '72, executive editor of ESPN The Magazine. "We used to talk sports a lot. I actually had the feeling when we first met that someday I would be voting for him. It's always impressed me that he's a governor, but he hasn't changed all that much. Even then, he struck me as a trustworthy guy, who was smart and focused and well-grounded."
J.K. Hage III '72, an attorney with Hage & Hage LLC in Utica who attended Albany Law School with Vilsack, pointed out that in his years as governor, Vilsack translated into action campaign commitments to address educational, health care and environmental issues, while adhering to fiscal responsibility. "He has proven in Iowa that his focus is on social justice and fiscal conservatism," Hage said.
Vilsack was born in Pittsburgh, orphaned at birth, and adopted in 1951. He entered Hamilton in 1968, where he met Christie Bell from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, who was attending Kirkland, the coordinate college for women on College Hill. After graduating from Hamilton with a degree in history, Vilsack entered Albany Law School. Bell and Vilsack were married, and following Vilsack's graduation from Albany Law School in 1975, they settled in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where Vilsack established his law practice.
He entered the political arena when the mayor's office became vacant in 1987 and quickly gained a reputation for getting things done. His next stop was the Iowa State Senate, where he served from 1992-98. Vilsack was elected Iowa's 39th governor in 1998, the first Democratic governor of the state in more than 30 years. He was re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002 and chose not to run for a third term in 2006, instead opting to take steps toward running for president. Vilsack launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in November 2006 but ended his bid in February 2007.
Vilsack returned to Hamilton College in 2001, when he gave the Commencement address and received an honorary degree. His last visit to Hamilton was in June 2007 when he spoke about his life in politics at his 35th reunion. The Vilsacks' son Jess, is a 2000 graduate of Hamilton and son Doug is a graduate of Colorado College.
He entered the political arena when the mayor's office became vacant in 1987 and quickly gained a reputation for getting things done. His next stop was the Iowa State Senate, where he served from 1992-98. Vilsack was elected Iowa's 39th governor in 1998, the first Democratic governor of the state in more than 30 years. He was re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002 and chose not to run for a third term in 2006, instead opting to take steps toward running for president. Vilsack launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in November 2006 but ended his bid in February 2007.
Vilsack returned to Hamilton College in 2001, when he gave the Commencement address and received an honorary degree. His last visit to Hamilton was in June 2007 when he spoke about his life in politics at his 35th reunion. The Vilsacks' son Jess, is a 2000 graduate of Hamilton and son Doug is a graduate of Colorado College.
J.K. Hage III '72, an attorney with Hage & Hage LLC in Utica who attended Albany Law School with Vilsack, pointed out that in his years as governor, Vilsack translated into action campaign commitments to address educational, health care and environmental issues, while adhering to fiscal responsibility. "He has proven in Iowa that his focus is on social justice and fiscal conservatism," Hage said.
