President Gerald Ford, 1974
What would a U.S. president, an actor, a journalist and an astronaut have in common with Woody Hayes? They are all OSU Commencement speakers. In fact, there have been numerous presidents, actors, journalists and even astronauts speak at OSU’s commencement ceremony over the years.
The first U.S. President was William McKinley, who actually spoke to graduates about a year before filling that role. Gerald Ford spoke at the August 1974 commencement, less than a month after being sworn in as such because of Richard Nixon’s resignation. The University of Michigan graduate (he played football for the Wolverines, who lost 34-0 to OSU his senior year) spoke about the dismal job market for graduates, the nation’s lack of energy independence, and competition from China. Sound familiar? Other presidents were: George H.W. Bush (1983), George W. Bush (2002), and Bill Clinton (2007).
Erin Moriarity, 2004
Former astronauts who have spoken at an OSU Commencement include: the first person to walk on the moon – Neil Armstrong (1971). John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, was the other astronaut, and he’s spoken at two ceremonies: in 1984 while he was a U.S. Senator, and in 2009. Kathryn D. Sullivan – the first American woman to walk in space – spoke at the 1997 ceremony. The OSU Commencement ceremony also has hosted several well-known pilots: General Curtis E. LeMay, who was a General in the Air Force during WWII and an OSU alumnus (1962), and Eddie Rickenbacker, the WWI flying ace (August 1957).
Woody Hayes, 1986
Journalists have included Walter Cronkite (1968), Barbara Walters (1971) and OSU alumna Erin Moriarty (2004). Interestingly, Walters spoke about the hard choices women who work face when they have children, a dilemma that still resonates with many women. And actors have included Bill Cosby (2001) and Christopher Reeve (1996), who spoke just a year before he died from complications related to spinal cord injuries he suffered from a horse-riding accident.
Finally, OSU’s most-winning football coach, Woody Hayes, spoke at the March 1986 ceremony of his love of football, history and of course, the University.
You can find many of the transcripts of these speeches on our web site at https://library.osu.edu/node/12462
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