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# SMC grads moving on with transportation secretary By Daily Press staff
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/smc-grads-moving-on-with-transportation-secretary-by-daily-press-staff/
- Published: 2004-06-05T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:30:40.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Education, Pico, #archive-import

U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta will be the speaker at Santa Monica College’s 74th commencement ceremonies on June 15.

About 500 students are expected to receive their Associate of Arts degrees at the graduation ceremony, scheduled for 6 p.m. at Corsair Field, 1900 Pico Blvd.

Mineta oversees an agency with 60,000 employees and a $56.3 billion budget.

In response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Mineta oversaw the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, which seeks to protect Americans as they travel across the country through such measures as air passenger screening.

Prior to joining President Bush’s administration, he served as U.S. Commerce Secretary under President Clinton, becoming the first Asian Pacific American to serve in the Cabinet.

Mineta and his family were among 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry forced from their homes into internment campus during World War II.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 5, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/060504.pdf?ref=smdp.com)