IDAHO FALLS — Former U.S. Senator Larry Craig will address University of Idaho graduates today during the spring commencement for the university's Idaho Falls campus.

The event will take place at the Colonial Theatre, located at 450 A. St. in Idaho Falls, at 7:30 p.m. today; tickets are not required.

Bob Smith, associate vice president of the Idaho Falls campus, said Craig is a University of Idaho graduate — he served as the student body president while attending classes there — and has been an energy proponent for years. Energy studies are a primary focus of the university.

“Senator Craig has been and continues to be a champion for a lot of energy issues,” Smith said.

Craig played an influential role in the Energy Policy Acts of 2005 and 2007, according to a news release. And he has served on the Leadership in Nuclear Energy Commission recently created by Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter.

“Because of those factors, we asked him to speak,” Smith said, adding that both the university’s students and the national labs have benefitted from his efforts.

Craig will address the graduates today, who earned a combined 73 degrees: 21 baccalaureate, 9 doctoral and 43 specialist and master’s, according to the news release.

Smith said those numbers are high, but not record-setting.

“It’s not out of (our normal) range, but this is a larger size class,” he said.

Statewide, 1,774 University of Idaho students are graduating this spring, according to the news release.

Smith said he is looking forward to the Idaho Falls commencement today.

“It takes me back to when I went through the process and completed my degree,” he said, adding that he enjoys seeing the excitement and relief on students’ faces. “There is a lot of hard work that goes into attending college and this is the time we get to celebrate the accomplishments of the students and their families.”