Academics

Ed Helms To Deliver Cornell's Senior Convocation Address This Spring; Will the Nard Dog Make an Appearance?

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The Nard Dog is returning to his alma mater this spring, sort of, as Ed Helms has been tabbed to speak at Cornell University's senior convocation this spring.

Known best for his character Andy Bernard on NBC's "the Office," Helms did not actually attend Cornell. Bernard did and made it a point during the duration of the show to point that out repeatedly to his Dunder Mifflin colleagues.

"Ed Helms will be the perfect graduation speaker. He's entertaining and he's a comedian - something that the Class of 2014 was looking for," graduating senior Jennifer Lee said in a Cornell news release. "The bonus is that Ed played a character who went to Cornell, so we feel a real kinship with him. For all Cornellians, he has a place in our hearts."

Lee, a graduate from the School of Hotel Administration, is also the chair of the students' Senior Convocation Committee, the group responsible for choosing the speaker.

Helms has several notable appearances in television and film, like "the Daily Show with Jon Stewart" or "the Hangover" trilogy. His academic track record is far less known. Most recently, Helms was awarded an honorary Degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from Knox College. He actually graduated from Knox and delivered the commencement address in 2013.

Beforehand, Helms entered Oberlin College as geology major, but graduated in 1996 with a B.A. in film theory and technology. After that, he spent a semester at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Andy Bernard was a lousy salesman at Dunder Mifflin, but had an infectiously upbeat personality. After Steve Carrel left the show, Andy replaced Michael Scott as manager. On the series last episode, Andy announced he was resigning from Dunder Mifflin to take his "dream job" in Cornell's admissions office.

"The weird thing is I'm exactly where I want to be - I just got my dream job at Cornell, and I'm still just thinking about my pals. Only now, they're the ones I made here," said Andy. "I wish there's a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them... someone should write a song about that."

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