Anticipation is heightening as Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s commencement draws near on May 14, 2011 at 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in the Lyon Chapel Fine Arts Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
The morning commencement ceremony will confer degrees upon traditional graduates, and in the afternoon ceremony, Adult and Graduate Studies students will receive their diplomas. OKWU is pleased to have among the AGS graduates, students who have completed our newest program, Master of Education. The commencement 
speaker will be Governor Frank Keating. During the ceremonies, Governor Keating will be presented the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters by Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
Governor Frank Keating is president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, which represents banks of all sizes and charters and is the voice for the nation’s $13 trillion banking industry and its two million employees. Governor Keating became ABA’s president and CEO on Jan. 1, 2011, following eight years of service as the president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers, and after serving two terms as Oklahoma’s 25th governor.
Born in St. Louis in 1944, Keating grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from the University of Oklahoma. His 30-year career in law enforcement and public service included stints as an FBI agent; U.S. attorney and state prosecutor; and member of the Oklahoma House and Senate.
He served Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush in the Treasury, Justice and Housing departments. His service gave him responsibility for all federal criminal prosecutions in the nation and oversight over such agencies as the Secret Service, U.S. Customs, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. As assistant secretary of Treasury and general counsel and acting deputy secretary of HUD, Keating worked on banking issues that are demanding attention today – including housing finance, lending practices, securitization and Bank Secrecy Act issues.
In 1993, Keating returned to Oklahoma to run for governor, winning a three-way race by a landslide. He was easily re-elected in 1998, becoming only the second governor in Oklahoma history to serve two consecutive terms.
Governor Keating won national acclaim in 1995 for his compassionate and professional handling of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. In the aftermath of the tragedy, he raised more than $6 million to fund scholarships for the nearly 200 children who lost parents. His accomplishments as governor include winning a public vote on right-to-work, tort reform, tax cuts, major road building, and education reform.
Gov. Keating recently served on the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Debt Reduction Task Force, a group of former cabinet members, elected officials and key stakeholders of both parties that recommended a series of tough measures to address the nation’s fiscal challenges.
He is seen and heard frequently on national news programs as a commentator on a wide variety of topics. Governor Keating also is the author of three award-winning children’s books — biographies of Will Rogers, Theodore Roosevelt, and Standing Bear, the Ponca Indian chief who argued Native Americans deserve the same rights as white Americans. He is the recipient of five honorary degrees.
He and his wife, Cathy, live in McLean, Virginia. They have three children and seven grandchildren.
Oklahoma Wesleyan University is a four-year, Christian university of the liberal
arts and sciences that is fully accredited by the North Central Association. OKWU also receives professional accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and the International Assembly of Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). It is a member of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities as well as the Council of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Association of Oklahoma Independent Colleges and Universities.
May 12, 2011