OSU commencements set for Friday, Saturday; Innovator, alumnus Rick Darnaby to speak

Monday, December 7, 2009

OSU expects to award about 1,500 graduate, undergraduate degrees

COMMENCEMENT INFO

(STILLWATER, Okla., Dec. 7, 2009) – Leading business strategist and Oklahoma State University alumnus Rick Darnaby will be the featured speaker for OSU’s Commencement Ceremony on Dec. 12 in Stillwater.

Darnaby will speak at the two undergraduate commencement ceremonies on Saturday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Approximately 1,500 students will be awarded their degrees this fall.

The 10:30 a.m. Saturday ceremony will honor students from the Spears School of Business, the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, and the College of Human Environmental Sciences.

The second ceremony, scheduled for 1:30 p.m., will feature students in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Education.

The Graduate College commencement ceremony will be held on Friday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. at Gallagher-Iba Arena. 

“Rick Darnaby is an expert in innovative and creative thinking and we are pleased to have him deliver this fall’s commencement addresses,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “Since receiving both of his degrees from OSU, he has gone on to a distinguished international business career and has brought honor and recognition to our university.”

Darnaby, of Montecito, Calif., has led a number of high-tech global businesses and is known for his innovative leadership style. He received his B.S. in business administration in 1978 and his M.B.A. in 1979, and went on to study International Business at the Institute of European Business Administration in Fontainebleau, France. 

He has been president for The NutraSweet Company, president and general manager for Motorola Company in Europe, and president and CEO of Monsanto Canada, Inc.

Darnaby is currently the managing partner of three Conceptual Age consulting firms serving high technology industries. The firms provide council and coaching in innovation leadership, conceptual business strategy, and optimization of intellectual property.