Photos by Jo McCulty The first commencement to be held in the Jerome Schottenstein Center featured a new platform backdrop designed by John Page, technical director at the center.

Commencement message: Take care of yourself

Speaker Satcher is among six honored

Ohio State graduates had one more lesson to learn during summer commencement ceremonies on Aug. 30. Speaker David Satcher, surgeon general of the United States, gave them a quick rundown of his low-tech guidelines to good health.

The four-point prescription: Conduct 30 minutes of physical activity per day at least five days per week; eat five servings of fruits and vegetables per day; avoid tobacco and other drugs; and be responsible when engaging in sexual behavior.

It may sound familiar. In fact, Satcher expects it to. But he said that from his vantage point, a major challenge of the 21st century is bridging the gap between science, policies and practices -- or, more simply, bridging the gap between what we know and what we do. Changes in human behavior could make a big difference in the quality of public health, he said.

Satcher spoke at Ohio State's first commencement to be held in the Jerome Schottenstein Center. He also was among six recipients of commencement honors. U.S. surgeon general since 1998 and only the second person in history to simultaneously serve as surgeon general and assistant secretary for health, Satcher received an honorary doctor of science degree.

President Brit Kirwan presents a Ph.D. in higher education and student affairs administration to Don Stenta, associate director of the Ohio Union and Student Activities and director of leadership and service-learning programs.

Three others received honorary doctorates, and two individuals were presented with the University's Distinguished Service Award.

Raphael Mechoulam, Doctor of Science

A renowned chemistry and biological researcher, Raphael Mechoulam is the Lionel Jacobson Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He focuses on the activity of natural products, primarily cannabinoids and their synthetic medicinal agents.

During the 1960s, he was the first to isolate and determine the pharmacologically active constituent in marijuana and hashish, opening the possibility of its use in the treatment of diseases. Three decades later, he identified anandamide, an endogenous ligand for the cannabinoid receptor in the brain, which has led to further investigation of potential therapeutic agents for drug addiction and other diseases.

A native of Bulgaria, Mechoulam earned his master's degree in biochemistry at Hebrew University in 1952 and his doctorate from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, in 1958.

Clayton Daniel Mote Jr., Doctor of Science

In 1998, C. D. (Dan) Mote Jr. was named university president and Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to that, he was a faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley, for 31 years.

As the University of Maryland president, he is committed to positioning the university as a leader in developing the state's high-tech economy, especially in the information and communication, bioscience and biotechnology, and nanotechnology sectors. He is internationally recognized for his research on the dynamics of gyroscopic systems, including high-speed translating and rotating systems.

Mote earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

College of Humanities graduate Gregory Adam Wilder proposes to Julie Kristine Stein, a College of Human Ecology degree recipient, during the ceremony. (She said yes.)

Karen K. Uhlenbeck, Doctor of Science

A 2000 National Medal of Science recipient, Karen K. Uhlenbeck has held the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Regents Chair in Mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin since 1987.

A Cleveland native, Uhlenbeck earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and her master's and doctoral degrees from Brandeis University.

Uhlenbeck's mathematical interests include the calculus of variations, nonlinear partial differential equations, differential geometry, gauge theory, topological quantum field theory and integrable systems. She has served as an organizer and lecturer for the IAS Mentoring Program for Women in Mathematics since 1994.

Her many honors include a 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.

Ray J. Groves, Distinguished Service Award

Ray J. Groves is the chair of Legg Mason Merchant Banking Inc., a group of private equity funds. He also chairs the University Foundation Board of Directors and is a member of the Dean's Advisory Council of the Fisher College of Business.

A 1957 Ohio State graduate in business administration, Groves served as chair and chief executive officer of Ernst & Young, an international accounting firm, for 17 years until his 1994 retirement.

As co-chair of the Fisher College's Campaign Committee, Groves has helped lead the college into national prominence through fund-raising efforts.

Previous honors from Ohio State include the President's 300th Commencement Award in 1987, the Fisher College of Business Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995 and a John B. Gerlach Sr. Development Volunteer Award in 1997.

E. Leonard Jossem, Distinguished Service Award

E. Leonard Jossem is an emeritus professor of physics at Ohio State. He has spent more than half a century in service to his discipline.

Jossem earned his bachelor's degree in physics from the City College of New York and his master's and doctoral degrees in condensed matter physics from Cornell University. During World War II, he was a member of the scientific staff at Los Alamos in the Advanced Developments Division. Joining the faculty at Ohio State in 1956, Jossem served as chair of the University's Department of Physics from 1967 to 1980, and retired in 1989. During his tenure at Ohio State, the Department of Physics grew in quality and reputation, becoming known for its emphasis on good teaching.

Jossem was a member of the Commission on College Physics, serving as chair from 1966 to 1971, during which time the commission's work fundamentally changed the way physics was taught in this country.

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