COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO U.S. Senator Wayne Allard, R-Colorado, will receive the Alumni Legislative Award from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs during April 14 ceremonies.
Allard, 61, of Fort Collins, will receive the Alumni Legislative Award from the university’s Alumni and Friends Association during a town hall meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. April 14 in the Colorado Springs City Council Chambers, 107 N. Nevada Ave.
“Senator Allard has been a vocal and powerful supporter of higher education in Colorado and in helping bring together the strengths of the university, the federal government and private business to benefit Coloradoans,” Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak said. “Senator Allard is an effective and compassionate legislator who is deserving of this recognition.”
The award will be presented by Jennifer Hane, chair, CU-Colorado Springs Alumni and Friends Association. Traditionally, the Alumni Legislative Award is presented at Commencement. However, because of Allard’s difficult U.S. Senate schedule, the award will be presented at a previously scheduled town hall meeting. Such meetings are a hallmark of Allard’s tenure as an elected official. Since 1991, he has held more than 600 town meetings across Colorado. During his time in the Senate, Allard has held a town meeting annually in each of Colorado’s 64 counties.
Allard was born in Fort Collins and raised on a ranch near Walden. He received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University and operated a veterinary practice, continuing when he was elected to represent Weld and Larimer Counties in the Colorado Senate from 1983 to 1990. He is remembered for sponsoring state law limiting legislative sessions to 120 days, preserving the concept of the citizen-legislator.
Allard served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District from 1991 to 1996, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. As a Colorado congressman, Allard served on the Joint Committee on Congressional Reform. He is currently a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee and a member on the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities and the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support.
He is also a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, where he is the chairman of the Housing and Transportation Subcommittee. Additionally he serves on the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and the Subcommittee on Securities and Investments. Allard also was selected to serve on the Senate Budget Committee.
Beginning in the 108th Congress, Allard was selected to serve on the Environment and Public Works Committee, which includes two subcommittee assignments, the Fisheries, Wildlife and Water Subcommittee and the Superfund and Waste Management Subcommittee. In January 2003, Allard accepted an assignment by Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell to serve as a Deputy Majority Whip. He is also the Chairman of the Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus.
The previous award recipients include:
2003 Andy McElhany
2002 Andy McElhany
2001 Andy McElhany
2000 Doug Dean
1999 Keith King
1998 Andy McElhany
1997 Jeffrey M. Wells
1996 William Martin
1995 Marcy Morrison
1994 Tom Ratterree
1993 Daphne Greenwood
1992 Terrence Philip “Renny” Fagan
1991 Chuck Berry
1990 James T. Rizzuto
1989 Ellwood Gillis
1988 Mike Bird
1987 Jeffrey M. Wells
CU-Colorado Springs, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls more than 7,600 students annually.