Gwen Ifill to Speak at Commencement

GWEN IFILL will be the principal speaker at the 176th Commencement May 21. She is the moderator and managing editor of PBS’ Washington Week, the longest-running prime-time news and public affairs program on television, and senior correspondent for The PBS Newshour. She is the author of The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, a bestseller.

Ifill will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Journalism degree. Also receiving honorary doctorates will be Fr. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of the College of the Holy Cross (Doctor of Humane Letters); Bill Oaks ’51 (Doctor of Public Service); and Sal Panto Jr., mayor of Easton (Doctor of Public Service). The College’s premier award for volunteers, the Lafayette Medal for Distinguished Service, will be awarded to Ed Alkire ’58.