PBS NewsHour Anchor to Address Cronkite School Graduates

Judy Woodruff, the co-anchor and managing editor of the “PBS NewsHour,” is the speaker for the Cronkite School Convocation ceremony. Judy Woodruff, the co-anchor and managing editor of the “PBS NewsHour,” will deliver the keynote convocation speech next month for graduates of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The ceremony will be held on Tuesday, May 12, at ASU Gammage at 6:30 p.m. More than 250 students are expected to graduate. Woodruff has covered politics and news for more than four decades for CNN, NBC and PBS. Since 2013, Woodruff and Gwen Ifill have anchored the “PBS NewsHour,” a nightly newscast that has reached millions of Americans for nearly 40 years. Previously, Woodruff served for 12 years as a CNN anchor and senior correspondent, where she anchored “Inside Politics.” She also was the chief Washington correspondent for “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” on PBS from 1983-1993. During that time, she anchored the PBS award-winning weekly documentary series “Frontline with Judy Woodruff.” “Judy Woodruff has been one of the great broadcast journalists of her generation,” said Cronkite School Dean Christopher Callahan. “And as part of the first female co-anchor team on national TV news, Judy is a fantastic role model for our students as she continues the stellar reputation of the ‘NewsHour’ as one of the most-respected newscasts on TV. We are excited for her to share her experiences and advice with our outstanding graduates.” Woodruff was White House correspondent at NBC News from 1977-1982 and wrote “This is Judy Woodruff at the White House.” She is a founding co-chair of the International Women’s Media Foundation and serves on the boards of trustee of the Freedom Forum, the Newseum, the Duke Endowment and the Urban Institute. Woodruff is the recipient of the Cine Lifetime Achievement Award, the Duke Distinguished Alumni Award and the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Broadcast Journalism/Television, among others. She is a graduate of Duke University, where she is a trustee emerita. The Cronkite School is home to Arizona PBS, which reaches more than 1.9 million households across Arizona. In January, the Cronkite School and Arizona PBS launched an expanded daily news and public affairs lineup, featuring “PBS NewsHour,” “BBC World News America,” “Arizona Horizon” and “Cronkite News,” the school’s award-winning newscast with breaking news and enterprise reports from ASU students.