The speakers at AU's four graduation ceremonies will include a top NBC journalist, a National Public Radio program host, a top official in the U.S. Government Accountability Office and a U.S. senator, according to information obtained by The Eagle.
David Gregory, chief White House correspondent for NBC News, will speak at the School of International Service and School of Communication's joint graduation May 13. More than 750 graduates are expected to attend the ceremony, at which Gregory, an AU alumnus, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, according to information in an e-mail from Presidential Chief of Staff David Taylor.
Before becoming NBC's White House correspondent, Gregory worked as the network's correspondent in Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as being an anchor for the network's cable news channel, MSNBC. SIS named Gregory as its alumnus in 2005, and he is currently a member of the Dean's Advisory Council, according to the e-mail.
Diane Rehm, host of the WAMU-based NPR program, The Diane Rehm Show, will speak at the College of Arts and Sciences' May 13 graduation. Rehm will also receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the ceremony, which more than 400 graduates are expected to participate in, according to the e-mail.
Rehm began working at WAMU in 1973 and began hosting The Diane Rehm Show in 1979, when it was still called Kaleidoscope. NPR began distributing the show nationwide in 1995 and to European and Japanese listeners since 1996.
Listeners at U.S. military installations can also hear her show on Armed Forces Radio, according to the e-mail.
David Walker, the comptroller general for the GAO, will speak at the School of Public Affairs and Kogod School of Business' May 13 graduation ceremony. More than 620 graduates are expected to attend the ceremony, at which Walker will receive an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree, according to the e-mail.
Walker became the GAO's comptroller general in 1998. The GAO is charged with maintaining accountability and improving performance within the federal government. Before going to the GAO, Walker was part of management at Arthur Andersen LLP and was assistant secretary of labor for Pension and Welfare Benefit Programs, according to the e-mail.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., will speak at the Washington College of Law's graduation ceremony on May 20. Landrieu will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the ceremony, according to the e-mail.
Landrieu became one of Lousiana's two U.S. senators in 1997. Before being elected to the U.S. Senate, Landrieu was Louisiana's state treasurer and a member of the Louisiana State House of Representatives. Her father, Maurice "Moon" Landrieu, was a former mayor of New Orleans and secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Her brother, Mitch Landrieu, is currently Lousiana's lieutenant governor, according to the e-mail.
The university expects to hold all four ceremonies in Bender Arena, according to the e-mail.
