CNN's Judy Woodruff to deliver commencement address
Judy Woodruff, the commencement speaker, is CNN's prime anchor and senior correspondent. She will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service from Coastal.
W. Horace Carter, founder and former editor-publisher of The Tabor City Tribune in Tabor City, N.C., will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Coastal.
Rep. Mark S. Kelley of Myrtle Beach will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Public Service.
Woodruff, a 30-year veteran of broadcast journalism, has devoted most of her career to political reporting. In September 1995, she traveled to Beijing to cover the U.N. World Conference on Women. She moderated CNN's first two "Global Forums," international town meetings with former President Bill Clinton in 1994 and former President Jimmy Carter in 1995. Before joining CNN, Woodruff was the chief Washington correspondent for PBS's MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour and anchor of the award-winning Frontline series on PBS. Woodruff has earned many awards, including the News and Documentary Emmy Award for outstanding instant coverage of a single breaking news story for CNN's coverage of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing and the Allen H. Neuharth Award for Excellence in Journalism. In 1994, she became the first recipient of the National Women's Hall of Fame President's 21st Century Award. She serves on the board of trustees of the Freedom Forum, the Carnegie Corporation, and the Urban Institute. Woodruff earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University, where she is a trustee emerita.
Carter won a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for his courageous coverage of Ku Klux Klan activities in Columbus County, N.C., and Horry County, S.C., in the early 1950s. Carter's editorials led to the conviction of 62 klansmen. A native of Stanly County, N.C., Carter earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina School of Journalism in 1939 and founded The Tribune in 1946. The late Charles Kuralt of CBS News called Carter a "fighting editor." Carter is also past president of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association.
Kelley has served in the South Carolina House of Representatives since 1993. As a legislator, he has been a strong supporter of Coastal and has played an important role in securing state funding for many capital projects, including the university's track and field facility, the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts Building, the proposed science building, and the proposed athletic facility. Kelley was also instrumental in bringing President George W. Bush to the Coastal campus when he was campaigning for the Republican nomination in 2000. He has served as chairman of the House Rules Committee and as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Kelley graduated from Myrtle Beach High School and attended Coastal Carolina University. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1972 to 1976.
In case of inclement weather, the commencement ceremony will be held at Alabama Theatre in North Myrtle Beach and admission will be by ticket only. If necessary, an announcement regarding commencement location will be made by 7 a.m. on May 11 through area media and the university's Web site at www.coastal.edu.
You can find more information on Coastal's commencement webpage.