ByGeorge!

May 17, 2005

Four Stars for Commencement ’05

60 Minutes Correspondent Andy Rooney Headlines Commencement Ceremonies on the Ellipse Featuring Honorary Degree Recipients Mildred Dresselhaus, Alberto Ibargüen, and Phillip Russell

Three-time Emmy Award-winning CBS News commentator Andy Rooney will address the graduating class of 2005 at GW’s Commencement on the Ellipse, May 22. Rooney will receive an honorary Doctor of Public Service at the ceremony, which annually draws more than 20,000 graduates and guests.

Also receiving honorary degrees will be Mildred S. Dresselhaus, Institute Professor and professor of physics and electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and chair of the Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics; Alberto Ibargüen, publisher of The Miami Herald and chair of the board of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS); and Dr. Philip K. Russell, former commander of the US Army Medical Research and Development Command.

Rooney is known to millions for his witty television essays, “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney,” which have closed the 60 Minutes programs for more than 27 years. His career with CBS began in 1949 as a writer for Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts. Rooney later wrote for The Garry Moore Show from 1959 to 1965. In the second half of the 1960s, he collaborated with the late CBS News correspondent Harry Reasoner on a series of CBS News specials, one of which, Of Black America, earned Rooney his first Emmy Award for writing.

In addition to his television work, Rooney continues to write a national newspaper column for Tribune Media Services and is the author of 14 books.

Among the graduates will be Rooney’s granddaughter, Alexis Perkins, who will be receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.

Dresselhaus, Institute Professor and professor of physics and electrical engineering at MIT, has served as president of the American Physical Society, treasurer of the National Academy of Sciences, and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dresselhaus has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science. She is co-author of four books on carbon science. Her research interests extend to experimental solid state physics, particularly carbon-related materials. Dresselhaus will receive an honorary Doctor of Science honoris causa. Following receipt of her honorary degree from GW, Dresselhaus will receive an award presented by the Heinz Family Foundation May 24 for her work in condensed matter and materials physics, and for her efforts to expand opportunities for women in the sciences.

Ibargüen is publisher of The Miami Herald and of El Nuevo Herald, both Knight Ridder newspapers. He has been a newspaper executive since 1984, first at The Hartford Courant, and then at Newsday in New York, before moving to Miami in 1996. In September, Ibargüen will assume the presidency of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. With assets of $1.9 billion, the Knight Foundation is a major supporter of journalism programs and civic activities in the 26 US communities where the Knight brothers had newspapers. Ibargüen chairs the board of PBS and is a member of the boards of the Freedom Forum, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the University of Miami. He also serves on the Trustees’ Council of the National Gallery of Art and the Advisory Council of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Ibargüen will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters.

Russell, former commander of the US Army Medical Research and Development Command, served in the US Army Medical Corps from 1959 to 1990, pursuing a career in infectious disease and tropical medicine research. He served in a succession of research assignments at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and overseas laboratories in Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Russell conducted laboratory and clinical research on a variety of viral and parasitic infectious diseases including dengue, malaria, hepatitis, and respiratory viruses. His studies of dengue hemorrhagic fever in Thai and Vietnamese children have led to greater understanding of the pathogenesis of this public health threat. Russell will receive an honorary Doctor of Public Service.

United States Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV), will address the class of 2005 at the GW Law School’s Diploma Ceremony, May 22 at 1 pm. Reid (JD ’64), will deliver the Shapiro Public Service Lecture.


Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu

 

GW News Center

 

GW Home Page April 5 Cover