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Class acts: Gasson Tower on the campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts is seen here.

It’s back to school for GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt this weekend. He’ll address the Hamilton College Class of 2010 on Sunday, May 23 at 10:15 a.m., with a live webcast of the speech available by clicking here. On Monday, May 24 at 10 a.m., he’ll deliver the commencement speech to the Boston College Class of 2010 – which can also be viewed live by clicking here. As Jeff jokes in his written remarks to the Boston grads: “I know what you are thinking. Of all the potential college commencement speakers in the world, how did we get the CEO of GE?” After listing a few potential answers, he explains: “If none of these reasons grab you, I would merely say: unemployment is high and GE will hire 2,000 college grads this year. That should get a round of applause from your parents.”

Among the messages that Jeff plans to leave with the newly-minted grads at Hamilton College, which is located in Clinton, NY, is one that runs through all of the work done here at GE: “Live with a spirit of optimism.” As he explains in his written remarks, “These are obviously challenging times. The cynics seem to be winning and the world is in a bad mood. But if you give in to it, if you despair that nothing substantial can be done to improve our world, you will prove the cynics right. Pessimists take whatever fate others hand to them. They might complain about it, resent it, but they don’t believe in themselves enough to do anything about it. Optimists seize life. Optimists change things. Because they believe they can, and they have the guts to keep trying until they do.”

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt today addressed the 2010 Electrical Products Group (EPG) Conference in Long Boat Key, Florida, giving the investor audience a mid-year review of GE’s strategy and growth plans. “GE’s environment is getting better but we’re cautious because of the volatility that’s out there,” Jeff said. “We’re seeing improving financials at GE Capital, strong momentum in key Infrastructure segments and progress toward expected year-end earnings growth over 2009.” While global economic conditions remain challenging, he said, GE’s simple and strong portfolio with leadership franchises in key growth markets, multiple revenue streams and geographic diversity continues to provide balance. Overall, GE is positioned for attractive earnings growth in the next few years beginning this quarter, he said.

GE’s 2010 annual shareholders meeting is getting underway this morning at 11 a.m. ET in Houston, Texas, which is home to an array of GE’s energy businesses. The theme of the meeting is “Renewal,” and it’s an opportunity for Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt to underscore that the business environment for GE continues to improve and that the 2010 framework outlined for the company remains achievable with upside potential. It’s also a chance for GE’s leadership and board members to hear directly from shareowners and get direct feedback about the company’s direction, business performance, and opportunities for growth. Click here to see a live webcast of the remarks made by Jeff and Keith Sherin, Vice Chairman and CFO. A rebroadcast will also be available later in the day.

Making GE an “industrial company first” and pushing our competitive advantage in technology — they’re key themes at GE in 2010 and ones that take center stage in a new letter to shareholders in this year’s Annual Report. “In 2010, we will spend about 5 percent of our industrial revenue on R&D,” writes GE’s Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt in the note. “We have filed 20,000 patents this decade. We have nearly 40,000 engineers and scientists around the world. We have developed more than 150 core technologies that create leadership across our company. We share technologies and innovation across multiple platforms to create technological scale. We benchmark each of these against our competition and lead in many.” One of the most recent examples of that technology push can be seen in the handheld Vscan ultrasound. As GE Healthcare’s Al Lojewski explains in the video below, which is part of GE’s online Annual Report: “We really hope that this is going to truly change the way that all physicians worldwide interact with their patients.”

GE’s near-term financial outlook is solid and the company is positioned for solid earnings and cash flow growth in the future, GE chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt told some 200 securities analysts, investors and members of the media today at the company’s annual outlook meeting in New York. “GE is ending 2009 back on offense,” Jeff said. “The worst is behind us in financial services and GE Capital will be a meaningful contributor to the company. GE has defined the businesses that fully utilize the GE competitive advantage and this is where we will invest and grow. GE will generate significant available cash and be extremely thoughtful about creating long-term shareholder value as we deploy capital.”