Susan Zirinsky, an AU alumna and executive producer for the CBS news magazine "48 Hours," will be the School of Communication's commencement speaker, according to David Taylor, President Neil Kerwin's chief of staff.
Zirinsky graduated cum laude from AU in 1974. She has worked as the executive producer of "48 Hours" since 1996 and is also the executive producer for special projects for the network's news and entertainment divisions.
She started working for CBS as a sophomore at AU, according to SOC's Web site.
Danna Walker, an SOC professor and The Eagle's faculty adviser, said her former colleague at CBS, whom she called "Z," will offer graduates a unique perspective of the media industry.
"[Zirinsky's] a wonderful choice [for commencement speaker]," Walker said. "She is very dynamic. She is a wonderful speaker. She's funny. She knows the news business. She's very dedicated to the news business, and she'll be very inspiring."
Kaitlin Jacobi, a senior in SOC, said she heard rumors "NBC Nightly News" anchor and managing editor Brian Williams would be the commencement speaker, and she was disappointed this ended up not being the case.
"I'm sure that whoever they pick for commencement obviously is going to be phenomenal, but it was a little disappointing not hearing that the person that you heard through numerous sources who was going to be at your graduation, is not going to be there," she said.
Jacobi said she would have liked to see alumna Nancy Meyers, the director, producer and screenwriter of the movies "The Holiday" and "What Women Want," speak at commencement.
The list of speakers for AU's other five schools went public in the April 14 issue of American Today, a university-run publication. The SOC speaker was not listed because AU's board of trustees had not authorized the honorary degree, The Eagle previously reported.
The SOC commencement ceremony, which will be in Bender Arena, will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. May 9.
The process for finding graduation speakers begins after May graduation, and continues into the fall semester, according to Taylor. Suggestions for speakers come from faculty, staff, students and alumni, he said.
You can reach this staff writer at thallerman@theeagleonline.com.
