U.S. Ambassador Joseph Westphal will share speaking duties with U.S. Senator James Lankford during three undergraduate commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 9, in Gallagher-Iba Arena at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. Westphal will speak at the 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. graduation ceremonies, while Lankford will keynote the 1 p.m. ceremony.

Westphal taught for several years at OSU and served as the head of the political science department from 1975 to 1987. He is the current U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Lankford, who recently served two terms in the U.S House of Representatives, was elected to represent Oklahoma in the U.S. Senate last November.

“We are pleased to have two distinguished speakers for our undergraduate commencement ceremonies,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “Ambassador Westphal and Senator Lankford share common ground in their willingness to take on growing responsibilities in public service and provide valuable leadership at a critical time for our country. I know our graduates will be inspired by their insights.”  

Westphal’s career spans more than 40 years in higher education and government.  In addition to OSU, he taught at Georgetown University and the University of Maine where he was also chancellor of the university system.

Prior to serving as U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Westphal was undersecretary of the Army and the chief management officer for a force of more than one million soldiers and several hundred thousand civilians from 2009-2014.  He also held the positions of assistant secretary of the Army in the Clinton Administration and acting secretary of the Army in the Bush Administration.

Westphal received his master’s degree from OSU and his doctorate in political science from the University of Missouri. He and his wife Linda have four adult children and six grandchildren. 

Senator Lankford had been serving as the chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, the fifth-ranking position in the House Republican caucus, when he won election to Oklahoma’s vacant U.S. Senate seat last November, receiving support from almost 68 percent of the voters.

Prior to his congressional service, Lankford served as director of Falls Creek Youth Camp for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma from 1996 to 2009. Falls Creek is the largest youth camp in the U.S., hosting students from all 77 counties of Oklahoma.

Lankford earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Texas in 1990 and a master’s degree in divinity from the Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in 1994. Lankford and his wife Cindy live in Edmond where they have raised two daughters.

The first of the three undergraduate commencement ceremonies at OSU on Saturday, May 9, is set for 9:30 a.m. for the College of Education and College of Arts and Sciences. The second is scheduled for 1 p.m. for the College of Human Sciences and College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. The final ceremony of the day will start at 4 p.m. for the Spears School of Business and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The OSU Center for Veterinary Health Sciences will hold its hooding ceremony for graduates on Friday, May 8, at 1 p.m. in Gallagher-Iba Arena. It will be followed at the same location by the OSU graduate commencement ceremony at 7 p.m.

The OSU Pipe Band will lead the Saturday processionals into Gallagher-Iba Arena, where candidates will be seated by college. For additional details about OSU commencement, go tohttp://commencement.okstate.edu/.

First Undergraduate Ceremony - 9:30 a.m.

College of Education

College of Arts & Sciences

Second Undergraduate Ceremony - 1:00 p.m.

College of Human Sciences
College of Engineering, Architecture & Technology

Third Undergraduate Ceremony - 4:00 p.m.

College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources