Former NASA astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn will be the featured speaker during Spring Convocation for Honors at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, April 14 in the Koury Center. Read this note for updated details on convocation and other special events for the entire campus community...
Members of the campus community are invited to these special events before convocation on Thursday, April 14:
- At 1:30 p.m., Senator Glenn will speak briefly at the site dedication ceremony for the Ernest A. Koury, Sr. Business Center behind McMichael Science Center on O’Kelly Ave. The ceremony will begin promptly at 1:30 at the construction site adjacent to the McMichael Science Center parking lot.
- At 2:30 p.m., Senator Glenn will be in Whitley Auditorium for a one-hour question-and-answer session. The session is open only to students, faculty and staff and tickets are not required.
Glenn will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree during the convocation, which recognizes academic achievement and philanthropy. Honorary doctor of humane letters degrees will also be awarded to Furman Moseley, Jr. ’56, a successful business leader and generous Elon supporter, and James B. Powell, a Burlington, N.C., philanthropist and community leader.
Glenn made history in 1962 when he circled the Earth three times aboard the Friendship 7 space capsule, completing the first manned orbital mission by the United States. His skill and courage were tested when a systems failure on the first orbit forced him to manually pilot the capsule at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour. He landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean and was instantly heralded as an American hero.
A native of Cambridge, Ohio, Glenn’s service to his country began long before he joined NASA. He was commissioned into the Marine Corps in 1943, flying 59 combat missions during World War II and 63 missions in Korea. He has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on six occasions and holds the Air Medal with 18 Clusters.
He retired from the Marine Corps in 1965 and entered the private sector as a business executive. In 1974 he was elected to the U.S. Senate and served his native Ohio for 24 years, focusing on arms control, nuclear proliferation, government efficiency and campaign finance reform.
Glenn returned to space in 1998 aboard space shuttle Discovery, where he studied the effects of zero gravity on an aging body. Upon his safe return, he was treated to his second ticker-tape parade in New York City. In 1999, NASA renamed its Cleveland Center the John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in his honor.
Today, Glenn runs the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy at Ohio State University. He is chairman of the National Commission on Service Learning, which focuses on integrating service with classroom instruction in public schools. His life is chronicled in his autobiography, “John Glenn: A Memoir.”
Glenn’s address will highlight Spring Convocation, which honors Dean’s List and President’s List students, the faculty, graduate students, the Class of 2005 and members of the Elon Society, the premier annual giving group at Elon.
Tickets to the convocation are available on a limited basis and are $12 or free for those with valid Elon identification. Tickets may be purchased by calling the McCrary Theatre box office at (336) 278-5610. The box office is open from 12:30-5 p.m., Monday-Friday.