U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., is the commencement speaker for Casper College's commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. tonight at the Casper Events Center.

Of the 578 graduates receiving a total of 704 degrees for the 2007-08 academic year, 265 will march at commencement.

Barrasso was sworn in to the U.S. Senate on June 25, 2007, to complete the term left vacant by Sen. Craig Thomas who died from leukemia. Before his appointment to the U.S. Senate, Barrasso spent the past five years representing Wyoming Senate District 27 in Natrona County.

A practicing orthopedic surgeon in Casper for 24 years, Barrasso has served as president of the Wyoming Medical Society and was named Wyoming Physician of the Year.

Again this year, the Casper College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa is asking community residents and graduates to bring a can of nonperishable food or a children's book to the ceremony.

Collection boxes will be at the entrances on the concourse for those attending the ceremony and in the hallway on the ground floor for students and others participating in the ceremony. Boxes will be available at both the commencement rehearsal at 10 a.m., and the commencement ceremony at 7 p.m.

Phi Theta Kappa is an international honor society for two-year colleges. "Project Graduation. Feed a Body. Feed a Mind." was started in 2002 as a way to alleviate hunger and illiteracy across the country.