December 13, 2004

Boise State To Present Sergio Gutierrez With Silver Medallion At Winter Commencement Dec. 17

Boise State University will present a Silver Medallion to Judge Sergio A. Gutierrez at the Winter Commencement ceremony on Friday, Dec. 17. Commencement is at 10 a.m. in the Taco Bell Arena. The Silver Medallion is Boise State’s highest recognition of service to the university and is awarded at the discretion of the president. Previous recipients include former Idaho Gov. Phil Batt, former Boise State President Eugene Chaffee and Micron CEO Steve Appleton. Appointed to the Idaho Court of Appeals in January 2002, Gutierrez is the son of Mexican farm workers. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade to avoid being a financial burden to his family and worked in the fields for two seasons before enrolling in Job Corps, a national job-training program for at-risk youths. While there he learned carpentry and earned his GED. After trying his hand at several low-paying jobs, he enrolled in a Boise State program to train bilingual teachers. After earning his bachelor’s degree in 1980, he went on to earn a law degree at the University of California-San Francisco. Gutierrez has practiced law in Southwest Idaho since 1983. In November 1993, Gov. Cecil Andrus appointed him as Idaho’s first Hispanic District Judge. In 1994 he was inducted into the National Job Corps Hall of Fame and received the Voices of Faith Human Rights Award in 2000. Gutierrez is a member of several community organizations, including the Governor’s Council on Children and Families and the Healthy Nampa/Healthy Youth Coalition. He makes frequent visits to area schools and youth organizations to inspire students to pursue their education. Winter Commencement ceremonies will also feature the presentation of an honorary doctorate to former Gov. Andrus and the conferring of 1,505 degrees to 1,478 students. About 500 of those students are expected to attend the ceremony. -30- Media Contact: Kathleen Craven, University Relations, (208) 426-3275, kcraven@boisestate.edu