ADA, Okla. – East Central University alumnus and former Oklahoma governor, George Nigh, is set to present the 10 a.m. commencement address for the Spring 2024 graduation ceremony on May 11 in the Kerr Activities Center.
Bachelor’s degrees are expected to be granted to 322 candidates at the ceremony.
This year marks 75 consecutive years of commencement addresses by Nigh to students of all ages across the state.
“I started out at ECU so I think it’s wonderful I’m making my seventy-fifth commencement there,” said Nigh. “It’s an anniversary.”
A native of McAlester, Okla., Nigh served in the U.S. Navy for 16 months in 1945-46. He would graduate from ECU, then known as East Central State College, in 1950, before going on to become one of the most notable names in Oklahoma politics.
In 1950, Nigh began a 32-year career in public office. He was the youngest member of the House of Representatives when he was elected, serving while still a senior at ECU. During his tenure in the state legislature, he introduced legislation designating “Oklahoma!” as the state song.
In 1958, at age 31, Nigh was elected lieutenant governor, the youngest in Oklahoma history and the youngest then serving in the United States. After serving 16 years as lieutenant governor, he was elected governor in 1978 and 1982. Promoting a "good guy" image with his white hat political trademark, he was the first Oklahoma governor ever re-elected to a second term and remains the only governor ever to carry all 77 counties.
Nigh notably served four different terms as governor, more than anyone in state history. He completed two brief unexpired terms when Gov. J. Howard Edmondson and Gov. David Boren resigned early to go to the U.S. Senate.
When Nigh left the Governor's Office in 1987, he returned to education as a Distinguished Statesman in Residence at the University of Central Oklahoma. He became UCO's president in July 1992 and served for five years. He is credited with starting a building boom and bringing international attention to the university.
Nigh was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the national chairman of the President's Committee to raise scholarship funds for all surviving children of those killed in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City.
He is the lifetime president of the Donna Nigh Foundation, which benefits Oklahomans with developmental disabilities. Nigh has received the National Martin Luther King Award and was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the U.S. Jaycee Hall of Leadership and the Oklahoma Vo-Tech Hall of Fame. He was named ECU's Distinguished Alumnus in 1977.
Nigh will deliver the commencement address with a message that he believes is crucial for all outgoing students, “It’s the end of your school, but the beginning of your life.”