2010 Commencement speakers announced
Graduating students have described the selection of former NBC’s host of the “Today” show Margaret Jane Pauley, to address the graduating class of 2010 as a brilliant choice by the University of Indianapolis in the wake of a difficult job market.
Pauley, who is a member of the Broadcast and Cable Hall of Fame and receiver of multiple Emmy awards, will speak at the commencement event scheduled for Saturday May 1, in UIndy’s Nicoson Hall.
“I am so excited she will be speaking to us,” senior Joyce Valentine said. “She is an amazing woman. I read her memoir, ‘Skywriting,’ and became her fan, and now I will hear her speak. She is the kind of person I want to listen to before I step into the real world.”
As recipient of the Radio and Television News Directors Association’s Paul White Award for lifetime contribution to electronic journalism, the selection of Pauley was never in doubt to resonate with students of the 2010 graduating class.
“Her story is astounding, and she is going to motivate a lot of us,” senior Dawn Davis said. “She has so many moving stories to tell us of herself, and I believe our class would be lucky to hear her. President Pitts couldn’t have chosen a better person to speak to us at these difficult times when the job market leaves no spur within.”
While some graduating students may believe that Pauley would only be relevant to students graduating with degrees in communication due to her accomplishments in journalism, other students believe that her story cuts across all academic concentrations.
“I don’t think she would be mostly relevant to communication students,” Valentine added. “Pauley is a jack of many trades. She is also a strong activist for children’s health and education. She can motivate anybody with her energy and successes.”
Choosing commencement speakers is usually a year long process, but with the help of former trustee Gordon St. Angelo, who hired Pauley for her first job out of college, Pauley’s attendance was secured.
“She’s also been very interested in reconnecting with her Indiana ties,” President Beverley Pitts said.
Among other honors, Pauley is a beneficiary of The Edward R. Murrow Award for outstanding achievement, and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from Arizona State University. Her 2004 memoir, ‘Skywriting: A Life out of the Blue,’ was a New York Times bestseller.
“I don’t know much about her other than she was a TV host, but her resume speaks for itself. I am looking forward to hearing what she has to say to us though. I guess the school believes that she [Pauley] has something to offer us- that’s why they [UIndy] chose her,” senior Aboubacar Sylla said.
A graduate of Warren Central High School and Indiana University, Pauley went on to carve a name for herself as the co-host of NBC’s ‘Today’ from 1976 to 1989 and later anchored the prime-time news program “Dateline NBC” for more than a decade.
Also on President Pitts guest speaker list is Indiana Commissioner of Higher Education Teresa Lubbers who will be speaking at the commencement for graduate level students on April 30.
“Teresa Lubbers has always been an advocate for education and supported educational initiatives,” Pitts said.
Lubbers joined the Indiana State Senate in 1993 and served until 2009, when she was selected to lead the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Her public service career began in the 1970s, when she served as an aide to Richard Lugar in his roles as Indianapolis mayor and U.S. senator.
Lubbers, who is also an Indianapolis native and Warren Central graduate, has received several awards and honors including the state’s Sagamore of the Wabash, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Government Leader of the Year, the GEO Foundation’s Education Leader of the Year, the Indiana Commission on Women’s Torchbearer Award for Women in Government and Indiana University’s Welsh-Bowen Distinguished Hoosier Award.
Both speakers will receive honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees during the commencement ceremonies, a decision that was approved by the faculty senate and the board of trustees.
