Ohio University announced Wednesday that OU graduate and HGTV star Leanne Ford will be the 2021 undergraduate spring commencement speaker virtually on May 1 and 2.
Ford is a 2003 OU graduate who studied specialized studies, and a self-taught interior designer who co-hosts Home Again with the Fords, which launched in January on HGTV, according to a university news release.
Prior to hosting Home Again with the Fords, Ford co-hosted Restored by the Fords alongside her brother, Steve Ford. Ford and her brother have renovated numerous structures in Pennsylvania, turning them into noteworthy homes.
Ford drew national attention after renovating a 1907 schoolhouse into a home in Pittsburgh, and her work has been featured on the covers of many notable publications, including the New York Times and Architectural Digest.
On May 1, there will be two undergraduate commencement ceremonies taking place at 9:00 a.m. and at 4:00 p.m. On May 2, there will only be one ceremony at 2:00 p.m., according to a previous Post report.
The speaker for the 2021 graduate commencement ceremony, taking place on April 30 at 9:00 a.m., will be Susan Williams.
Williams was named the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award winner in 2020 and has been a professor of anatomy in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine since 2003, according to the release.
Williams has also been honored for her research in numerous areas, including for her work on the development of the nervous system, muscles and skeleton, starting from infancy.
“I am so proud to be an OU grad. And I am beyond honored to be speaking,” Ford said in the release. “I hope to inspire the 2021 graduates to go into the world confidently and joyfully, and with the pride of what they have already accomplished.”
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