OXFORD, Miss. – Veteran newsman Bob Schieffer describes his visit last
fall to the University of Mississippi as an evening that made him
“proud to be an American.”
Schieffer, chief Washington correspondent for CBS News and host of the
network’s “Face the Nation,” was on campus to cover the first
presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. He returns
May 9 to deliver the address for the university’s 156th commencement,
set for 9 a.m. in the Grove.
“Being there for the debate just made me understand how far the country has come,” Schieffer said. “It was one of the most wonderful moments in the history of the country, and I was so happy to be there.”
During the “Face the Nation” broadcast the Sunday after the debate, he talked about the event and praised the university’s progress in racial reconciliation over the past 40 years. And when university officials invited the broadcaster to deliver the commencement address, he accepted with enthusiasm, Chancellor Robert Khayat said.
“We strive to present nationally and internationally prominent leaders to our students, and Bob Schieffer is clearly one of the most respected figures in television news,” Khayat said. “He is synonymous with integrity. He was at Ole Miss for the presidential debate and developed warm feelings for our community.”
The day before commencement, recipients of doctor of philosophy degrees are to be hooded by their major professors in a 7:30 p.m. ceremony in the Ford Center for the Performing Arts.
A shuttle service for handicapped visitors is to be provided Saturday before the main ceremony. Shuttles will pick up people needing assistance at the intersection of University Avenue and Grove Loop (in front of Coulter Hall) and take them to the seating area. Visitors needing assistance after the ceremony should tell their driver.
Following Schieffer’s address, individual schools and the College of Liberal Arts hold ceremonies at various times and locations to present baccalaureate, master’s, doctor of pharmacy and juris doctor degrees and awards. The schedule is as follows:
School of Accountancy – Ford Center, 11 a.m.
School of Applied Sciences – Indoor Practice Facility, 11 a.m.
School of Business Administration – Tad Smith Coliseum, 11 a.m.
School of Engineering – Lyceum Circle, 11 a.m.
School of Education – Grove, 11 a.m.
School of Law – Grove, 11 a.m.
School of Pharmacy – Turner Center, 11:30 a.m.
College of Liberal Arts – Tad Smith Coliseum, 2 p.m.
In case of rain, Education will be moved to 2:30 p.m. in the Indoor Practice Facility; Engineering, 11 a.m. in Fulton Chapel; and Law, 1:30 p.m. in the Ford Center.
A native of Austin, Texas, Schieffer started his career as a reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. One of his first assignments was to cover James Meredith’s admission to UM, and in 1965, he became the first reporter from a Texas newspaper to report from Vietnam. He moved to television as news anchor at WBAP-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth, which eventually led to his joining CBS News.
In 2005, his alma mater, Texas Christian University, created the Schieffer School of Journalism. He is one of the few broadcast or print journalists to have covered all four major beats in the nation’s capital: the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and Capitol Hill.
He has published four books: “The Acting President” (E. P. Dutton, 1989), “This Just In, What I Couldn’t Tell You on TV” (Putnam, 2003), “Face the Nation: My Favorite Stories from the First 50 Years of the Award-Winning News Broadcast” (Simon & Schuster, 2004) and “Bob Schieffer’s America” (Putnam, 2008). He also writes songs for and performs with the band Honky Tonk Confidential, which performed last year with Trisha Yearwood and Brad Paisley at the Grand Ole Opry.
For more information on UM commencement activities, go to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/registrar/commencement.html . For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7051.