13
November
2017
|
05:40 AM
America/New_York

Sen. Rob Portman will address autumn Ohio State University graduates

COLUMBUS, Ohio – U.S. Sen. Rob Portman will deliver the commencement address to autumn Ohio State University graduates. More than 3,600 students will receive degrees during the ceremony, which begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

Portman was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 and was re-elected in 2016.

“We are pleased to welcome United States Senator Rob Portman to speak at our university’s 417th commencement ceremony,” said President Michael V. Drake.

“Senator Portman has represented Ohio as an active, involved and committed citizen at the highest levels of government. He participates regularly in many of the most important conversations of our time and has a broad and lengthy record of service and legislative engagement. His extensive knowledge and experience will energize our students as they consider ways they might create their own mark on our broader world.”

Portman was first elected to Congress in 1993, representing the state’s 2nd District in southern Ohio. In 2005, President George W. Bush appointed Portman United States Trade Representative. In 2006, he was named director of the Office of Management and Budget. He declared his candidacy for U.S. Senate in 2009, after George Voinovich announced he would not run for re-election.

In the Senate, Portman serves on the finance, homeland security and governmental affairs, energy and natural resources, and foreign relations committees. He chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Since entering the Senate in 2011, Portman has authored and passed over 50 bills into law, including anti-human trafficking laws, bipartisan legislation securing additional resources to tackle the heroin and prescription drug epidemic, legislation to protect Lake Erie from harmful algal blooms through scientific research and laws to ensure the National Park Service has the resources needed to maintain the parks. Portman also serves on the board of advisors for the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.

In Congress, Portman worked to enact legislation on welfare reform and a balanced budget. He also authored or co-authored over a dozen bills that became law, including legislation to reform the Internal Revenue Service, curb unfunded mandates, expand drug abuse prevention and treatment and increase pensions.

A native of Cincinnati, Portman earned a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

During the ceremony, the university will award the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund.

Commencement ceremony ticketing and security

  • Due to the steadily increasing size of the university’s graduating class, Ohio State has instituted a ticketing process for Autumn Commencement. Beginning this semester, graduating students will need to request tickets for their guests. Tickets are free. Students who have applied to graduate will receive more details via email the week of Nov. 13, including instructions on how to request their four guaranteed tickets. Graduates will also have the option to join a waitlist for up to four additional tickets. Learn more at http://commencement.osu.edu/for-graduates/tickets.html.
  • The Jerome Schottenstein Center recently upgraded security measures and guests will be asked to walk through metal detectors to enter the arena. For more information about the screening process, see Prohibited Items/Security at https://schottensteincenter.com/guest-services/faqs