Glenn to speak at senior commencement

On June 14, about 7,500 Ohio State graduates will hear from the first American to orbit the earth.

John H. Glenn, former U.S. senator, astronaut and recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, will be the commencement speaker at OSU's spring ceremony at Ohio Stadium.

This will not be Glenn's first commencement speech, as he addressed the spring graduates 25 years ago in 1984; however, this time Glenn will also be addressing his wife, Annie, who will receive an honorary doctor of public service degree.

Glenn, a native of New Concord, Ohio, was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1943 and set a transcontinental speed record as a test pilot in 1957, traveling from Los Angeles to New York in 3 hours and 23 minutes.

After being selected as one of seven NASA Mercury astronauts to pilot the spacecraft Friendship 7, Glenn sealed his fate as the first American to orbit the earth.

After a brief stint as an executive for Royal Crown Cola, Glenn became active in the Democratic Party and tried his hand at politics. Glenn succeeded, carrying all 88 counties in Ohio during his election to the U.S. Senate in 1974. Prior to his retirement from the U.S. Senate in 1997, Glenn donated his papers and memorabilia to OSU, which now maintains the John Glenn Archives.

The archives contain more than 2,000 cubic feet of materials documenting Glenn's careers as a military aviator, NASA astronaut, businessman and U.S. Senator.

In September 1998, OSU announced the establishment of the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy, which is now called the John Glenn School of Public Affairs. The Glenn School is housed in Page Hall and features many archival items on display, including the hand controller from Friendship 7.