ATHENS, Ohio -- Distinguished Professor of Theater Ursula Belden, recipient of last year's Distinguished Professor Award, will deliver the keynote address at this weekend's 24th annual Ohio University Honors Convocation to be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, in Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.

The Honors Convocation, held annually since 1978,celebrates student scholars, recognizes the generosity of those who donate Ohio University student scholarship funds and honors distinguished professors. This year, more than 4,000 students will receive awards worth more than $9.8 million.

"This is a very meaningful event for all students who receive scholarship assistance on campus," said Jan Hodson, assistant dean of the Honors Tutorial College. "It also is a time to celebrate and recognize those who so generously donate funds for these important scholarships."

A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Belden has designed for Broadway and off-Broadway productions as well as for major resident theaters, including the Mark Taper Forum and the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

As head of production design and technology at Ohio University, Belden has dramatically improved the university's reputation in production design. She has been with the university since 1986.

President Robert Glidden will announce Steven Grimes as the recipient of this year's Distinguished Professor Award at the convocation. A professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Grimes is extensively published in numerous technical journals. He came to Ohio University as a visiting professor in 1978 and served as director of the university's John Edwards Accelerator Laboratory from 1985 to 1991.

Grimes was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and is a fellow of the American Physical Society. He received his bachelor of science degree from Stanford University and his master's degree and doctorate from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.