OSU Interim President Becky Johnson to deliver OSU-Cascades commencement address

BEND, Ore. (KTV) -- Becky Johnson, interim president of Oregon State University, will give the commencement address at OSU-Cascades’ graduation ceremony on June 12.

Johnson served as vice president of OSU-Cascades from 2009 until 2021, when she was appointed the first woman to lead OSU.

“We are thrilled to welcome Becky back to Central Oregon for OSU-Cascades’ 21st commencement ceremony and, fittingly, for the first commencement ceremony to be held on the campus she made possible,” said Andrew Ketsdever, interim vice president of OSU-Cascades. “As a trailblazer in higher education, a champion for students and an ambassador for Central Oregon, she will have a powerful message for the class of 2022.” 

The commencement ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. within the oval green.

Johnson came to OSU-Cascades when it was located in a leased building on the Central Oregon Community College campus. During her tenure, OSU-Cascades secured state and philanthropic funding that helped transform it to a four-year campus of Oregon State. In 2016, she oversaw the opening of the OSU-Cascades campus, which was the first public university campus to open in the state in 50 years.

“Becky’s visit will be a celebration for OSU-Cascades graduates and families and for Central Oregon,” said Rod Ray, chair of the OSU-Cascades Advocacy and Advisory Board. “Her leadership in the development of OSU-Cascades has been nothing short of remarkable and her efforts have significantly enhanced Central Oregon.”

Since OSU-Cascades was founded in 2001, more than 4,700 students, the majority from Central Oregon, have received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Bend campus.