Findlay, Ohio, May 5, 2000 – The University of Findlay will confer more than 733 graduate and undergraduate degrees and award two honorary doctorates during commencement exercises Sunday, May 14, at 2 p.m. in the Malcolm Athletic Center, Koehler Fitness and Recreation Complex.

A total of 191 graduate degrees will be awarded. These include 83 master of business administration degrees, 60 master of arts in education degrees, 30 master of science in environmental management degrees and 18 master of TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) and bilingual education degrees.

A total of 542 undergraduate degrees will be conferred, including 336 bachelor of science degrees, 92 bachelor of arts degrees, 37 bachelor of science in business management degrees, eight bachelor of science in environmental management degrees and 69 associate of arts degrees.

The speaker for commencement will be Rep. Jo Ann Davidson. She will also receive an honorary doctor of governmental leadership degree.

Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, Davidson is currently serving her 10th term in the House. In addition to her many responsibilities as speaker, she represents the 24th House District, which includes the eastern suburbs of Franklin County.

The first woman to serve as Speaker of the House in Ohio, Davidson saw many challenges ahead when she led Republicans to victory in 1994 to gain control of the House of Representatives for the GOP for the first time in more than two decades. Since that time, Speaker Davidson has led the House to pass several major pieces of legislation in the areas of welfare reform, criminal justice, education, economic development, campaign finance reform and government reorganization. She counts as one of her biggest accomplishments the adoption of new rules to govern the House and made the legislative process more open and fair for House members, the press and members of the public.

Davidson started her public service career in 1967 as a member of Reynoldsburg City Council, where she served for 10 years. She also has extensive experience in the private sector. Prior to 1994, Davidson worked for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce as vice president for special programs.

A native of Findlay, she graduated from Findlay High School and worked for the Findlay • Hancock County Chamber of Commerce as an assistant secretary for nine years.

The mother of two, Davidson holds honorary law degrees from Ohio University and Capital University. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Franklin University and The University of Findlay.

Jean C. Nye, Ph.D., is being honored posthumously with a doctor of humane letters degree. At the time of her death earlier this year, Nye was assistant vice president for institutional advancement at The University of Findlay.

Her career at UF began in 1959 as an assistant professor of modern languages. She rose through the ranks to become a full professor in 1973.

Nye expanded the Spanish program to include bilingual multicultural education which in 1982 was the first such program to be certified in Ohio. She also was influential in the writing and passage of Ohio state law mandating certification of bilingual teachers. She developed the first bilingual business education program in the Midwest. She established the Center for Bilingual Multicultural Studies in 1984. In 1989, Nye gained accreditation for a master’s degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) and bilingual education.

Fueled by her success at winning large federal grants to fund her endeavors, Nye’s programs continued to grow. She added Japanese language and culture as a major, as well as minors in French, Japanese, German and international studies. Reflecting the breadth of programming, the program was renamed the International Center for Language and Resource Development in 1990.

She continued as director of the International Center until she was named as assistant vice president of institutional advancement in 1997, when her focus shifted to helping the University secure grants from corporate, foundation and government sources. Altogether, she was responsible for more than $10 million in grants for UF throughout her career.

Her programs were recognized by the government and her peers with awards that included designation as one of three "exemplary" bilingual programs at U.S. universities by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs (OBEMLA) in 1989.

She was honored as an Ohio nominee for the Nelson Brooks Award for outstanding work in culture by the Ohio Foreign Language Association in 1988.

Deeply involved in her community, she was a member of numerous civic organizations. A member of McComb First Presbyterian Church, she served as organist and Sunday school teacher for young adults

A graduate of Geneva College, Pa., in Spanish, French and English, she earned a master’s degree in Spanish from the University of Pittsburgh where she also was an Andrew Mellon Fellow. She received a doctorate in curriculum and teaching/Spanish and English as a second language (ESL) at the University of Toledo.

She is survived by her husband, Rev. James Nye, pastor of McComb First Presbyterian Church.