Terrance Carroll, newly elected Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, will address Metro State graduates at Fall Commencement, Dec. 14.

Carroll, who will begin his fourth term in the Colorado House of Representatives (D-Denver) in January, was elected Speaker of the House in November by the Democratic caucus. Pending election by the full house in January, he will be the first African American to hold the position in Colorado.

A longtime supporter of education, Carroll has chaired the Metro State caucus of the legislature since it formed in 2006. During his tenure in the state legislature, Carroll has also championed affordable housing, secure pensions, fair wages, and quality and affordable healthcare. He has served as chair of the House Judiciary Committee and as a member of the Legal Services and the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs committees. He became assistant house majority leader in February 2008.

In addition to his legislative duties, Carroll is an attorney with Greenberg Traurig, LLC.

He holds a bachelor’s degree cum laude from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., a master of divinity degree from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver and a law degree from the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. He is also a graduate of the Summer Leadership Institute at the Harvard Divinity School.

The commencement ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. in the Colorado Convention Center. There will also be a live Webcast of the event. For more details, go to http://www.mscd.edu/student/commencement/event/.