Jim Lehrer To Deliver Tufts' Keynote Address
Acclaimed journalist to share stage with Bill McCullough and Helen Vendler during Tufts Commencement ceremony.

Medford/Somerville, Mass. [03.14.01] -- Emmy award-winning journalist Jim Lehrer will deliver the annual Commencement address at Tufts, university officials today announced. A critically acclaimed journalist, author and playwright, he is best known as the host of PBS' News Hour with Jim Lehrer.

   "An embodiment of the Tufts spirit, Lehrer has combined a global perspective with a passion for knowledge to build an extremely successful and critically acclaimed career," Tufts President John DiBiaggio said, describing this year's keynote speaker. "A veteran professional and leader in the field, Lehrer continues to be a voice of truth, fairness and integrity."

   Over the last 25 years, the veteran journalist has anchored the nightly news broadcast, helping to secure 30 awards for journalistic excellence for the program. In 1999, he was elected into the Television Hall of Fame and was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Bill Clinton.

   This past fall, Lehrer moderated all three presidential debates, marking the fourth straight election in which the veteran journalist officiated over the nationally televised events.

   An acclaimed author, Lehrer has penned 12 novels, including "The Last Debate," which turned into a made-for-television movie that aired on Showtime in November 2000.

   MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, owned by Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, co-produces a wide range of programs and series for public, commerical and cable television -- several of which Lehrer has hosted. The most recent was the highly praised "Debating Our Destiny," in which Lehrer interviewed former presidential and vice presidential candidates about their debate experiences.

   Lehrer will be joined by honorary degree recipients David McCullough and Helen Vendler during the May 20th ceremonies.

   "A Pulitzer Prize-winning author, David McCullough is one of the most respected and popular American biographers of all time," notes DiBiaggio. "And Helen Vendler is a literary guide who has been hailed as our nation's finest interpreter of poetry. We are pleased that these three accomplished individuals will join the Tufts community as we celebrate our annual commencement ceremony."

The Honorary Degree Recipients Include:

David McCullough: biographer and journalist

Biographer, historian, lecturer and teacher, David McCullough is the author of six widely acclaimed books, including Truman, one of the most popular American biographies of all time and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize. To millions of television viewers, McCullough is also known as the host of "The American Experience," and narrator of numerous PBS documentaries including "The Civil War." A gifted public speaker, he has lectured in all parts of the country and abroad, as well as being a part of the White House presidential lecture series. He is also one of the few private citizens ever invited to speak before a joint session of Congress, during its bicentennial.

Helen Vendler: scholar, literary critic

One of America's most respected poetry critics, Helen Vendler has published 10 major books and received 16 honorary degrees. The New Republic described the Harvard English professor as "the best poetry reviewer in America." In an interview last winter, Vendler said: "Poetry is one of the fields which can be pressed to its utmost imaginative freedom, to reconceive reality and reconceive the way words go together. Poetry will always continue to offer surprise, exhilaration and unpredictability."

Speakers Addressing Tufts' Professional Schools Include:

Kofi Annan: Tufts' Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

Kofi Annan of Ghana is the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations. The first Secretary-General to be elected from the ranks of United Nations staff, he began his term on January 1, 1997. Annan joined the United Nations system in 1962 as an administrative and budget officer with the World Health Organization in Geneva. In 1990, following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, Annan was asked by the Secretary-General, as a special assignment, to facilitate the repatriation of more than 900 international staff and the release of Western hostages in Iraq. He subsequently led the first United Nations team negotiating with Iraq on the sale of oil to fund purchases of humanitarian aid.

George McGovern: Tufts' School of Nutrition, Science & Policy

The Ambassador to the United Nations' World Food Program, McGovern coordinates the U.S. efforts to improve and develop emergency food aid, food quality and safety standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural development around the world. After four years in the House of Representatives, McGovern was appointed director of the U.S. Food For Peace program by President John F. Kennedy. While in the post, he made the first offer of U.S. assistance that opened the way for the launching of the World Food Program -- which he now represents. As a U.S. Senator, he chaired the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, and helped develop the highly regarded "Dietary Goals For The American People."

Judith Vaitukaitis: Tufts' School of Veterinary Medicine

Judith Vaitukaitis is Director of the National Center for Research Resources [NCRR] for the National Institutes of Health In Bethesda, Maryland. The NCRR develops critical research technologies and provides cost-effective, multidisciplinary resources for more than 20,000 biomedical investigators. Dr. Viaitukaitis has published over 160 scientific papers and served on numerous editorial boards of scientific journals. Dr. Vaitukaitis earned a bachelor's degree from Tufts in 1962 and a M.D. degree from Boston University in 1966. She was elected Alumni Trustee in 1998.

David Warsh: Tufts' School of Dental Medicine

A business and economics columnist for the Boston Globe, David Warsh has written on a wide range of topics, including the Bush administration, the dot-com revolution, the Microsoft antitrust case, and health care in Massachusetts. Warsh is expected to discuss "Technological Innovation, Health Care Economics and the Economic Future of Dentistry" at the Dental School graduation ceremony.

Daniel Federman: Tufts' Medical and Sackler Schools

A senior dean at Harvard University, Daniel Federman has taught medicine at Harvard and Stanford for over 30 years. A dedicated physician and teacher, he is widely praised for his ability to connect with his students. "Federman has used his legendary eloquence both to advance the voice of the students, individually and collectively, and to help build an ethical and human medical education environment," said a dean at Harvard, describing Federman's contributions to medical education. Now the director of alumni affairs at Harvard, he is active in scholarship fundraising.

Online: http://www.tufts.edu/communications/printerversion/031401TuftsCommencementSpeakers