Photos by Jo McCulty Graduate Marli Wittman Parobek, right, gets a hug from Barbara Warren, assistant professor of nursing.

Cosby's humor provides cure for graduate angst

A sun-soaked Oval greeted graduates and their guests for spring commencement on June 8, when America's"quintessential dad" placed emphasis on integrity and parental support during his address to the 35,000-strong crowd.

"I want everybody to start today to fall in love with your parents. I want you to fall in love with integrity," said speaker Bill Cosby, praised by President Brit Kirwan for his combined expertise as a parent and an education advocate.

Cosby told graduates that it's all right if they don't have jobs as long as they looked for one, but suggested that now that they have finished school, OSU's newest alumni must"get out and begin to work."

"(Your parents) brought you here," he said,"but I don't think they brought you here to four years later take you home broke and in debt."

Dressed in red warm-up pants and a gray Ohio State T-shirt, Cosby suggested that the one debt that makes sense for today's college graduates is a debt to their parents and guardians.

Bill Cosby delighted the commencement crowd with his wit and humor.

"I want you to begin to listen to those elders in your family ... your mother and your father or whatever old person brought you up. These people happen to love you," he said in classic Cosby style."I want you to stop listening to your friends. They only know what you know.

"(Parents) know how to connect the dots so that it is, in fact, a good picture. É When they decide to tell you about life, it is their act of love toward you.

"Truly give all of yourself to them, because they certainly have given to you," he said.

Cosby gave the ceremony his all, completing his outfit with sneakers and a Block O ballcap and a tassel. Though he entered and departed from the ceremony in academic attire, he stripped to his Buckeye duds for his commencement address, to the delight of the crowd.

Upon receiving his honorary doctorate in education from Ohio State, Cosby embraced Kirwan warmly and held his diploma up for all to see.

He adds that to the many honorary doctorates he has received, as well as the master's degree and Ph.D. in education he earned at the University of Massachusetts. Originally intending to become a physical education teacher, Cosby discovered his gift for comedy and launched one of the most successful entertainment careers in history. Despite the millions he was earning at the time he received his doctorate, Cosby told the OSU commencement audience, his mother didn't consider him financially secure until he had that degree"to fall back on."

He was among four honorary doctorate recipients and two Distinguished Service Award winners recognized during the ceremony, during which a total of 5,789 students received their degrees.

Other honorary doctorates went to Lester E. Brown, president and senior researcher with the Earth Policy Institute; Daniel Urban Kiley, one of the most significant landscape architects in the world; and Raymond E. Mason Jr., founder and chair of the Columbus Truck & Equipment Co. Inc. Clark C. Kellogg, former Buckeye and NBA basketball player and a college basketball analyst for CBS, and Thekla Reese Shackelford, education consultant and founder of School Selection Consulting, received Distinguished Service Awards.

Another famous person was recognized in landscape architecture: Eddie George, star running back for the NFL's Tennessee Titans and Ohio State's 1995 Heisman Trophy-winning standout player, received his bachelor of science in landscape architecture this spring. He was among a number of athletes who have continued their studies and received their degrees after leaving OSU (see related story, page five). In all, 98 former and current athletes received their degrees during the ceremony.

Approximately 35,000 people attended ceremonies June 8 on the Oval.

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