CBS's Lesley Stahl to address graduates

Lesley Stahl, longtime correspondent for CBS' acclaimed news magazine program 60 Minutes, will deliver the Commencement Address at Loyola's 156th Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 17. Stahl will also receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree, honoris causa, from the College at the Exercises.
 
"I am delighted that a journalist of Ms. Stahl's caliber, who has spent more than 30 years examining and documenting the most critical issues facing our society, has agreed to address this year's graduating class," says College President Brian F. Linnane, S.J. "I am confident that the perspective she will bring to her remarks will prove insightful and compelling to our graduates, who are preparing to accept their responsibilities as leaders in a increasingly diverse, complex and promising world."
 
Prior to joining 60 Minutes in March 1991, Stahl served as CBS News' White House correspondent during the Carter and Reagan presidencies and part of the term of George H. W. Bush. Her reports appeared frequently on the CBS Evening News during the tenures of Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather, as well as other CBS News broadcasts. For much of this time, Stahl also served as the moderator of Face the Nation, CBS News' Sunday morning public affairs broadcast, on which she interviewed such newsmakers as Margaret Thatcher, Boris Yeltsin, Yasser Arafat and virtually every top U.S. official.
 
Throughout her distinguished career, Stahl has covered stories including Watergate, the 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan, the 1991 Gulf War, every U.S. - Russian summit since 1978, every economic summit of industrialized countries since 1979 and every national political convention and election night since 1974. Her exclusive 60 Minutes interviews with former Bush administration officials Paul O'Neill and Richard Clarke ranked among the biggest news stories of 2004, and she was the first to report in 2002 that Al Gore would not run for President.
 
Her extensive list of honors includes many Emmy awards for her work on Face the Nation and 60 Minutes, including a 2003 Lifetime Achievement Emmy, as well as the prestigious Alfred I. DuPont - Columbia University Journalism Award.
 
She is a 1963 cum laude graduate of Wheaton College, where she serves on the Board of Trustees.

Learn more about the 2008 Commencement ceremony at www.loyola.edu/commencement