Dear Graduates,

We hope you and your family will be able to join us for the university-wide Commencement Ceremony at 7 p.m. this Friday night. No tickets are required. 

This ceremony is always very special and includes the pageantry of herald trumpets, the Kiowa Black Leggings Society and the Bagpipes and Drums of the Highlanders along with a huge fireworks display.

It is an important time for the entire community to gather.

This year the Commencement speaker is Wendy Kopp, CEO and Co-founder of Teach for All, and Founder and Chair of Teach for America. Through Teach for America, she gained the participation of 38,000 college students who made two-year teaching commitments in the nation’s highest need urban and rural schools and reached more than 3 million children nationwide. Almost 100 OU graduates have taught for the organization.

OU will award Wendy Kopp and four outstanding individuals with Honorary Degrees in recognition of their contributions to the University, state and nation. Honorary degree recipients include Bill Anoatubby, Governor of the Chickasaw Nation; Gary England, Oklahoma’s top-rated television meteorologist; Dr. Jesus Medina, pioneering ear, nose and throat physician; and Bill Saxon, who advanced arts and culture through OU’s two major museums.

I hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

David L. Boren

President