U.S. Ambassador Joseph Westphal will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) Degree on Saturday, May 9, at 9:30 a.m., prior to speaking at the first of three undergraduate commencement ceremonies set for Gallagher-Iba Arena at Oklahoma State University.

Westphal, the current U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, started teaching political science at OSU in 1975 and eventually served as head of the department until 1987, when he began a career in government service.

“For more than 40 years, Ambassador Westphal has dedicated his life to serving others through higher education and government, including leadership positions serving Congress and the executive branch under several presidential administrations,” said Burns Hargis, OSU president. “He has distinguished himself as an effective and compassionate leader and we are pleased to recognize his contribution to OSU and society with the highest honor we can bestow.”

In addition to OSU, Westphal taught at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and New School University in New York, and served as chancellor of the university system at the University of Maine from 2002 to 2006.

Prior to his confirmation as ambassador, Westphal was undersecretary of the Army from 2009-2014, which is the chief management officer for a force of more than one million soldiers and several hundred thousand civilians. He also served as assistant secretary of the Army in the Clinton Administration and acting secretary of the Army during the Bush Administration.

After serving as a visiting scholar at the Institute for Water Resources in 1988, Westphal was selected as the executive director for the House Sunbelt Caucus, a bipartisan legislative service organization, and eventually served as director of the Congressional Sunbelt Caucus in the U.S. Senate until 1997. 

Westphal attended Delphi University in New York where he played football and hockey and graduated in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He received his master’s degree from OSU and his doctorate in political science from the University of Missouri. He and his wife Linda have four adult children and six grandchildren. 

Westphal will speak to students from the College of Education, and the College of Arts and Sciences at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony. Oklahoma U.S. Senator James Lankford will keynote the 1 p.m. ceremony for students in the College of Human Sciences, and the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. Westphal will speak again at the 4 p.m. ceremony for the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, and the Spears School of Business. 

Each of the ceremonies will be streamed live online at ostate.tv. 

The Center for Veterinary Health Sciences Commencement will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 8, in Gallagher-Iba Arena followed by the Graduate College Commencement at 7 p.m.