3,000 Undergraduates Expected to Hear Clarence Page at Ohio University's June 9 Commencement

Contact: Jennifer Kirksey Smith, (740) 597-1796 or smithj12@ohio.edu

ATHENS, Ohio (May 31, 2001) -- More than 3,000 undergraduates are expected at Ohio University's two June 9 commencement ceremonies. Clarence Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Chicago Tribune, will address the 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. sessions in the 13,000-seat Convocation Center. Page, a 1969 School of Journalism graduate, received an honorary degree from the university when he delivered the 1993 commencement address.

"I think this is a great honor to be invited to the university once again," Page said. "There are a lot of things I'd like to tell the graduates, but most importantly, to never lose the desire to learn and that their education continues beyond college."

The commencement ceremony for master's and Ph.D. degrees is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, June 8, in the Convocation Center. Claudia Hale, professor of interpersonal communication, will deliver the keynote address at the ceremony. The Ohio University Graduate Student Senate named her the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Member this academic year.

Former Ohio University President Charles J. Ping spoke at the College of Osteopathic Medicine's commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 2, in Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. Ping began his tenure as president the same year the medical college was founded.

An increasing number of undergraduates participating in commencement exercises initiated the switch to two ceremonies in 1996, when more than 3,000 undergraduates participated. The morning ceremony will recognize bachelor degree candidates in the colleges of Business, Communication, Fine Arts and Health and Human Services. The afternoon session will honor candidates in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education, Engineering and Technology, Honors Tutorial College, University College and Regional Higher Education.