Governor and Lt. Governor to deliver Oklahoma State University commencement
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Gov. Mary Fallin and Lt. Governor Todd Lamb, both Oklahoma State University alumni,
will be the featured speakers for the OSU Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 7,
at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. Fallin is scheduled for the first ceremony at
9:30 a.m., and Lamb will speak at the second and third ceremonies at 12:30 p.m. and
4 p.m.
The 9:30 a.m. ceremony will recognize students from the College of Engineering, Architecture
and Technology, and the College of Education. The 12:30 p.m. ceremony will recognize
students from the Spears School of Business, and the College of Agricultural Sciences
and Natural Resources. The 4 p.m. ceremony will recognize students from the College
of Human Environmental Sciences, and the College of Arts and Sciences.
The OSU Graduate College Commencement ceremony for doctoral and masters graduation
candidates will start at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 6, in Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.
“We are pleased and honored to have the leaders of Oklahoma’s executive branch of
government deliver this year’s commencement address,” said OSU President Burns Hargis.
“Their success is a shining example of OSU graduates who lead the way in both the
public and private sectors. We are especially proud to feature the first-ever female
governor of Oklahoma, as well as a Lt. Governor who was assigned to help with the
9-11 investigation as a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service.”
After a successful career in the private sector as a manager for a national hotel chain, Fallin took her first step into public service in 1990 when she was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. She quickly earned a reputation as a consensus builder who was willing to reach across the aisle to serve Oklahomans. In 1994, Fallin would make history by becoming the first woman and first Republican to be elected lieutenant governor of Oklahoma, an office she would hold for 12 years. She was elected the first female governor of Oklahoma on Nov. 2, 2010. She was inaugurated on the steps of the Oklahoma Capitol as the state’s 27th governor on January 10, 2011.
An Enid native, Lt. Governor Lamb played football at Louisiana Tech University, then returned to Oklahoma earning his bachelor's degree from Oklahoma State University and his law degree from Oklahoma City University.
In 1993, Lamb worked on the campaign staff of gubernatorial candidate Frank Keating and alongside the governor himself during his first term in office. In 1998 Lamb started training for the U.S. Secret Service and was elected president of his academy class, graduating with special recognition. Lamb’s secret service work included domestic and international protection assignments during the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. After the terrorists' attacks, he was assigned to portions of the 9-11 investigation.
Lamb was elected to his first term in the Oklahoma Senate on November 2, 2004 representing NW Oklahoma City and Edmond. He was re-elected without opposition in 2008. In 2009, he became the first Republican Majority Floor Leader in state history. He has worked as a land man in Oklahoma's energy industry, and in addition to his senate service, was general counsel for an energy and wireless company in Edmond.
For more information about OSU’s commencement ceremonies, go to http://commencement.okstate.edu/