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President Harry S Truman spoke at 10:05 a.m. on June 9,
1950, at Memorial Stadium in Columbia. Due to a rainstorm,
the ceremonies were shortened and the honorary degree
recipients, including the president, received their degrees
at Jesse Hall. Photo courtesy of Univesity Archives (C:1/141/8
Box 1 FF147)
Please click here
for President Truman’s University of Missouri commencement
address.
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Inspiring
Speakers
@Mizzou readers share their favorite
graduation speaker memories...
Some of us in ODK thought it would be sensational to have President
Harry Truman as our graduation speaker. We met with MU President
Middlebush, and he forwarded the request to Allan McReynolds,
president of the Board of Curators. The wheels turned, and President
Truman accepted the invitation. I was excited, for I was not
only graduating, but was being commissioned a second lieutenant
in the U.S. Army Reserves.
It was a hot June day. I had
my uniform on under my robe, and we went out to Memorial Stadium.
We saw a tent set up on the running track. Soon the band struck
“Hail to the Chief” and out paraded the president.
No matter what your political persuasion, you had a lump in
your throat. Then the sky opened up and poured down rain. We
ended up with no presidential address and a lot of wet robes
and mortar boards. We picked up our diplomas and commissions
in Jesse Hall.
– Bob Busse, BS BA ’50
The 1950 graduation was memorable: The speaker
was the U.S. President Harry S (no period) Truman. To be sure
Memorial Stadium was filled for him, the university invited
residents of Columbia, Boone County and the near world. Shouts
from the locals of “Hi, Harry” greeted the president
as his limo arrived on the infield. It cut into the solemnity.
Just after Mr. Truman finished — and all eyes were on
the sky — a monsoon-like downpour deluged us. The presiding
chancellor, with controlled anxiety, quickly awarded diplomas
to the graduates and told them to report the next day to pick
up their documents. We all ran for cover as fast as we could.
Could you claim the ceremony was a washout?
– Richard L. Ornauer,
BJ ’47
Dick Cheney’s speech is memorable
because I have known him since the late 1950s when his father
was my boss in the state SCS office in Casper. I have visited
with him when he was a representative from Wyoming and also when
he was secretary of defense and arranged a one-on-one tour of
the Pentagon.
– Bill Moyes, BS Ed
’75, M Ed ’79, Ed SP ’83
Editor’s Note: Although not about
a specific graduation speaker, the following letter to MU Chancellor
Richard Wallace is one father’s reflections about his
daughter’s recent graduation from Mizzou.
May 20, 2003
Dear Dr. Wallace:
I had the pleasure of watching my daughter go through the honors
convocation last Saturday, and the graduation from the School
of Journalism shortly thereafter. In addition to her bachelor’s
of journalism cum laude, she also received a bachelor of arts
in English with honors — all in four years. No accomplishment
in my own life could match the joy of watching my oldest child
graduate from college.
It was five years ago that we stopped in
Columbia because Karen had some vague thoughts about Missouri.
We stopped to visit a campus I was unfamiliar with to say the
least. From the very beginning my daughter and her parents were
treated better than I could ever have imagined. Outside of a
small disagreement about a miracle catch made by a Nebraska
player, we’ve been treated amazingly well! The people
in Jesse Hall with whom we have communicated over the years
have been the best, and we appreciate that very much.
We paid out-of-state tuition (minus generous help from MU) for
four years because we are both teachers and nothing is more
important than our children’s education. I had feared
that Karen might take a few years to properly appreciate her
education, but as we walked around the campus and through the
Quad for the last time before driving home, I could tell from
her remarks that a piece of her heart belongs to Mizzou. It
is in good custody and good company.
Please pass along my gratitude to the appropriate
people in administration, the Journalism School, the English
department, and the Women’s Studies program. I owe them
more than I can say. My son is currently attending the United
States Air Force Academy, but I do have one left at home. If
she should ever choose Missouri, I would send her with confidence,
knowing that she would be in good hands.
Sincerely,
Edward Montgomery
Assessment Coordinator
Kimball Public Schools
Kimball, Nebraska
A favorite spring break memory that
we received after @Mizzou’s May issue had already been
published...
As freshmen, we decided to fly from the nest to sunny Daytona
Beach, Fla., for spring break. The hotel was a little spendy,
but we got a great deal on the airline tickets. Such a great
deal that another friend decided to join us. We gave her our
flight numbers so that she could sign up. As it turned out,
those flight numbers were going to Dayton . . . as in Dayton,
OHIO!! “Someday we’ll look back and think this was
very funny,” we thought. I guess that day has finally
arrived.
– Kate Thornton, BS
ME ’93
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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