{"id":29206,"date":"2026-03-09T15:31:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T19:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/?p=29206"},"modified":"2026-03-09T16:25:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:25:59","slug":"wheel-of-fortune-announcer-jim-thornton-named-marshall-university-commencement-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/2026\/03\/wheel-of-fortune-announcer-jim-thornton-named-marshall-university-commencement-speaker\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Wheel of Fortune\u2019 announcer Jim Thornton named Marshall University Commencement speaker"},"content":{"rendered":"
His voice is synonymous with solving puzzles, but for this year\u2019s graduating class at Marshall University, it will forever be tied to one of life\u2019s most meaningful rites of passage.<\/p>\n

Jim Thornton, a Son of Marshall who last fall served as Marshall\u2019s Homecoming Grand Marshal, has been named as the 2026 Spring Commencement speaker for Marshall\u2019s graduation ceremony set for Saturday, May 9 at the Marshall Health Network Arena.<\/p>\n

“Being invited to give Marshall University\u2019s 2026 Commencement Address is a tremendous honor,\u201d Thornton said. \u201cEvery time I\u2019m on campus I am overwhelmed by the pride and enthusiasm I feel from EVERYONE. Marshall holds a special place in the hearts of Huntingtonians like me, and I am incredibly proud to help us all celebrate this achievement together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thornton was hired by WOWK-TV after high school where he gained hands-on experience in broadcast news.\u00a0 And, as a freshman at Marshall in 1983, Thornton found himself at Marshall’s student radio station, WMUL-FM, having long been captivated by the voices of his favorite disc jockeys on the local radio stations. Thornton\u2019s early interests ultimately set him on the path to where he is today.<\/p>\n

Thornton relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in broadcasting and voice work and never left. His career took an exciting turn in 2004 when he voiced episodes of \u201cThe Price Is Right,\u201d and in 2011, when he was hired as the announcer of the iconic game show \u201cWheel of Fortune.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall University President Brad D. Smith said the university community is pleased to welcome Jim Thornton back to campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast fall, Jim honored us by serving as our Homecoming Grand Marshal,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled he has agreed to return as our commencement speaker. Once you\u2019re part of the Herd, that connection to this university lasts a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall will mark its Spring Commencement with two ceremonies at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 9 at the Marshall Health Network Arena.<\/p>\n

For more information about the day, visit www.marshall.edu\/commencement<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

His voice is synonymous with solving puzzles, but for this year\u2019s graduating class at Marshall University, it will forever be tied to one of life\u2019s most meaningful rites of passage. Jim Thornton, a Son of Marshall who last fall served as Marshall\u2019s Homecoming Grand Marshal, has been named as the 2026 Spring Commencement speaker for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":239,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29206"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29217,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29206\/revisions\/29217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}