Award–winning ABC News anchor and correspondent David Muir has accepted an invitation to return to his alma mater to deliver the 2011 Ithaca College Commencement address. Muir, who graduated in 1995 from the Roy H. Park School of Communications, will speak at the ceremony on Sunday, May 22.
On February 14, Muir was named sole anchor of the weekend editions of ABC’s evening newscasts, which were renamed “World News with David Muir.” He had been anchoring the Saturday broadcast since 2007. The promotion came shortly after Muir returned from Cairo, where he provided some of the network’s primary coverage of the Egyptian revolution that led to the fall of Hosni Mubarak.
In announcing the promotion, ABC News president Ben Sherwood called Muir, “a gifted reporter and storyteller with immense creativity, versatility and dedication to our audience. His recent reporting from Cairo illustrates his passion for journalism and his exceptional abilities in the field. As he demonstrated last month when news broke of the mass shootings in Tucson, David is a trusted and reassuring presence at the anchor desk.”
In addition to his weekend duties, Muir serves as coanchor of “Primetime” and is one of the lead substitutes for “World News with Diane Sawyer.”
“In a relatively short time, David Muir has risen to the highest levels of his profession,” noted Ithaca College president Tom Rochon. “His journalism career has taken him across the country and around the world to bring some of the most important stories of our time to a wider audience. We are quite pleased that it will now bring him back to Ithaca to help inform and enlighten our graduating seniors and their guests.”
Muir joined ABC News in August of 2003 as overnight news anchor and quickly moved on to become one of the network’s lead correspondents on several major domestic and international stories. The winner of multiple Emmy awards, he has reported from China, the Middle East, South America, Eastern Europe, South Africa and throughout the United States.
Prior to joining ABC, Muir distinguished himself as an anchor and correspondent for WCVB-TV in Boston and WTVH-TV in his hometown of Syracuse, New York. Among other honors, he was part of news teams that received the National Headliner Award and Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting, and he was recognized by the Associated Press with awards for best enterprise reporting and best television interview.
“We are honored to have such a notable alum deliver our Commencement address,” said Danielle Giserman, president of the senior class. “Since leaving Ithaca College, Mr. Muir has established himself at the forefront of his industry in helping keep the nation well-informed on world events. As we embark into the real world, I am confident that having such an inspirational individual share his insight and experiences with us will help motivate us into our own future.”
In addition to his degree from Ithaca College, Muir attended the Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University and studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain.
Beginning with last year’s selection of actress CCH Pounder ’75, the college has instituted a policy of choosing a Commencement speaker who is a notable alumnus or faculty member who has a deep connection to the institution and can deliver an address that is directly connected to the speaker’s experience with the college. Muir is a 2005 recipient of the Ithaca College Alumni Association’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award, and in 2007 he returned to campus to speak as part of the Jessica Savitch Distinguished Journalism Lecture Series.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20110223161534990