Chuckie Finster, Rufus the naked mole rat and El Barto himself will all be present in Athens, Ohio this spring.
Rather than being part of a retro television show screening, these notable animated characters will be coming to Ohio University to serve as the undergraduate commencement speaker.
Alumna Nancy Cartwright, best known for her work as the voice of Bart Simpson, will speak at both the morning and afternoon undergraduate commencement ceremonies June 9.
“(OU President Roderick McDavis) visited Ms. Cartwright personally and asked her to speak,” said Becky Watts, McDavis’ chief of staff, in an email. “She enthusiastically said ‘yes.’”
Cartwright attended Ohio University from 1976 to 1978 before transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles to study theater. The Kettering, Ohio, native has voiced multiple characters in the long-running television show “The Simpsons” since its debut in 1987.
“Nancy Cartwright is one of the most respected voice actors in the entertainment industry,” McDavis said in a statement. “We are honored to have her share her wisdom and experience with our graduating students.”
In 1992, Cartwright won an Emmy award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance as Bart Simpson. She also voiced the character Gloria for the animated television series “Richie Rich” and did voice work for animated shows “Rugrats” and “Kim Possible.”
Cartwright performed her one-woman show “My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy” at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium in 2005 to raise money for her Forensics Scholarship fund, according to the Scripps College of Communication website.
“Not only is Nancy an extremely accomplished alumna, she is a tremendous supporter of the Scripps College of Communication and its students,” said Scott Titsworth, interim dean of the Scripps College, in a statement. “I am honored to welcome her back to campus to deliver the keynote address for this year’s undergraduate commencement ceremonies.”
Titsworth nominated Cartwright for an honorary doctorate degree from OU, Watts said. McDavis moved the nomination along to the university’s Board of Trustees, which will decide whether to approve it during the April 20 board meeting.
Cartwright was a member of the debate team when she attended OU, and her scholarship supports students from Fairmount High School who want to study speech, debate, drama, or music at OU.
“(OU) was instrumental in my success as an artist,” she said during a 2010 keynote speech at OU for the National Forensics Association Tournament. “(OU) was my ‘playground’ in a field that I had no training in at that time. I discovered my talent by immersing myself in the programs that OU offered, and for this I am eternally grateful.”
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