John Glenn:  Muskingum Alumnus, Trustee, and Distinguished Alumni Professor

Muskingum University, the State of Ohio, The Ohio State University, and the nation will celebrate the 50^th anniversary of John Glenn’s historic orbit of the Earth on February 20 which has been designated as “John Glenn Friendship 7 Day.”   

Students and alumni from Muskingum and OSU will participate in “Join Forces for Service” on February 17, in honor of John and Annie Glenn’s commitment to giving back to others.

The United States Congress awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to John Glenn last November. This is our country’s highest civilian award.  Senator Glenn served in the U.S. Senate, representing Ohio, for 24 years and in 1998, at the age of 77,  he returned to orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

Senator Glenn’s careers in the space program, in the military, in business, and in politics have not diminished his involvement with his alma mater. Senator Glenn is an active member of Muskingum’s Board of Trustees, and his wife, Annie Castor Glenn ’42, is an emeritus trustee.  Senator Glenn was named a Distinguished Alumni Professor in Public Affairs at Muskingum in 1998, the same year in which Annie was named a Distinguished Alumni Fellow in Speech Communication.

In addition to “Joining Forces for Service,”  the following activities are planned:

Orbit Media (Orbit TV and WMCO) will offer commemorative programming on February 20.  In 1998, Muskingum’s student radio station became “The Orbit” as part of a student-initiated action that marked the Senator’s return to space aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

Muskingum’s Library will highlight Senator Glenn’s career with a special display.

Projects and displays are scheduled at the John and Annie Glenn Historic Site, of which Muskingum University is a major partner. To visit the museum’s site, click here.

For more about John Glenn’s life in New Concord, click here for The John Glenn Story video, a half-hour video (1963) from the National Archives.