Transcript Staff

William S. Cohen, 20th U.S. secretary of defense, will deliver the University of Oklahoma's commencement address May 9.

Cohen will receive an honorary degree at the ceremony, which will be in the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, 180 W. Brooks St.?In the event of severe weather, the ceremony will be moved to the Lloyd Noble Center, 2900 S. Jenkins Ave.

"Secretary Cohen is one of America's most eloquent and insightful speakers," OU President David Boren said. "He has had a broad range of experiences as U.S. congressman, senator, secretary of defense and in the private sector. He will have a message well worth hearing by our graduates about the world in which we live and values by which to guide our lives."?

Cohen was first elected to public office as mayor of Bangor, Maine, in 1971. Two years later, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving three terms and thereafter 18 years in the U.S. Senate.?He served as U.S. secretary of defense from January 1997 to January 2001.

Cohen has written or co-authored 11 books -- four non-fiction works, four novels and two books of poetry.

Cohen is the chairman and CEO of The Cohen Group, a Washington, D.C.-based business consulting firm. He is a senior counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and is the weekly world affairs contributor for CNN's "Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer.?

For more information and accommodations on the basis of disability, call the OU Graduation Office at 325-3467.