Ohio Congresswoman Joyce Beatty will deliver the Summer Commencement address to 1,500 graduates on Aug.6 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.
Beatty was the first female Democratic House leader in Ohio’s history and worked to expand STEM education in the state, as well as secure funds to help under or uninsured women access breast and cervical cancer treatment.
She has been openly against current efforts by Republicans to repeal and replace ObamaCare, speaking out against what she referred to as “TrumpCare” on June 27.
Beatty, a native Ohioan, has represented Ohio’s 3rd congressional district as a Democrat since 2013. She currently serves on the House Committee of Financial Services and is a member of the Housing and Insurance, and Oversight and Investigations subcommittees.
Before serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, she was senior vice president of outreach and engagement at Ohio State.
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty shows her support for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at a rally on the South Oval on Oct. 10. Credit: Lantern Archives
“As a small-business owner, steadfast public servant, passionate higher-education advocate and former senior vice president of The Ohio State University, Congresswoman Beatty will inspire our graduates to change the world for the better as they set out on their collective journey,” said President Michael V. Drake.
During the ceremony, the university will also award the honorary Doctor of Science degree to Leonard Susskind, the Felix Bloch Professor of theoretical physics at Stanford University, and director of the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics.
Ohio State will award the Distinguished Service Award to Archie Griffin, former president and CEO of The Ohio State University Alumni Association and the nation’s only two-time Heisman Trophy winner.
