Congressman Tom Cole, R-Moore, delivered the keynote address at the first spring convocation of the University of Oklahoma’s School of International and Area Studies.

The event was May 9 at the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center on the University of Oklahoma’s Norman campus. The school granted 77 bachelor’s degrees and three master’s degrees to graduates who have studied abroad in 31 different countries.

Meredith Simons, a graduating senior from Aurora, Ill., and the editor-in-chief of The Oklahoma Daily, OU’s student newspaper, was awarded the first Admiral William J. Crowe Jr. Award presented to the School’s most outstanding student.

The award honors the late chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Ambassador to the United Kingdom and OU professor and was presented by his son, Brig. Gen. William B. Crowe, USMC.

Weihao Zhang, a native of China and a 2009 SIAS degree candidate, sang “America the Beautiful” at the beginning of the convocation.