To: Oregon State University Community members
From: Edward J. Ray, President, Oregon State University
March 18, 2019
I am pleased to announce that world-renowned marine ecologist and OSU Distinguished University Professor Jane Lubchenco will serve as the commencement speaker at our Corvallis campus graduation ceremony on June 15.
Jane’s contributions in the academy and government place her at the forefront of crafting solutions to our planet’s most pressing problems such as climate change and ocean health.
Her selection as OSU’s 150th commencement speaker underscores the university’s commitment to advancing a healthier, prosperous and more sustainable future for Oregon, the nation and the world. Jane’s academic career began as a professor at Harvard University and continued at Oregon State beginning in 1977 until her appointment as administrator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Following Jane’s NOAA service, she was the 2013 Haas Distinguished Visitor in Public Service at Stanford University. She then returned to OSU as a Distinguished University Professor and advisor to the president for OSU’s growing marine studies initiative.
Jane is one of the world’s most highly cited ecologists with expertise in the ocean, climate change and interactions between the environment and human well-being. She served as an undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere within the Obama administration and later as the State Department’s first science envoy for the ocean.
Last year, Jane received the Vannevar Bush Award from the National Science Board. The award recognizes “exceptional lifelong leaders in science and technology who have made substantial contributions to the welfare of the nation through public service in science, technology and public policy.” In 2017, she received the National Academy of Sciences’ most prestigious award, the Public Welfare Medal. She is also a MacArthur Fellow and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Jane has co-founded three organizations that train scientists to better communicate and more effectively engage with society: COMPASS, the Leopold Leadership Program, and Climate Central. In fact, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden has referred to Jane as the “bionic woman of good science.”
She received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Colorado College, a master’s degree in zoology from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in ecology from Harvard University.
The Corvallis campus commencement ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 15, at Reser Stadium. Jane will receive an honorary doctorate degree in ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences as part of the ceremony.
I am honored that Jane Lubchenco will give our commencement address and provide graduates much to consider as they begin their careers and lives beyond Oregon State University.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Ray
President