Oxford, Miss. – Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith
returns to his alma mater May 10 to deliver the University
of Mississippi’s 155th commencement address.
Smith, who anchors the network’s signature “The Fox Report”
evening newscast and afternoon news-interview program
“Studio B,” speaks to graduating students and their
families at 9 a.m. in the Grove. This year’s graduating
class includes some 2,800 candidates for undergraduate and
graduate degrees.
“We invite nationally and internationally renowned leaders
for our commencement address, and this year we are honored
to bring one of our own back to campus,” Chancellor Robert
Khayat said. “Shepard Smith is a rising star in network
news, and he has helped redefine how people get and
perceive information about events around the world.”
Recipients of doctor of philosophy degrees are to be hooded
by their major professors in a 7:30 p.m. ceremony May 9 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 Welcome Center on
University Avenue (in front of Coulter Hall) and take them
to the seating area for the main ceremony. Visitors needing
assistance after the ceremony should tell their driver.
Following Smith’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:
11 a.m.
Smith Coliseum, 11 a.m.
Lyceum Circle, 11 a.m.
Grove, 11 a.m.
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.
Smith, a native of Holly Springs, studied journalism at Ole
Miss and sharpened his skills at the campus Student Media
Center. He landed his first job with NBC affiliate WJHG-TV
in Panama City, Fla., then moved to stations in Fort Myers,
Orlando and Miami. He worked as a reporter for the
now-defunct news show “A Current Affair” and then for the
Fox News Edge affiliate news service.
He joined Fox News Channel when it was created in 1996. He
quickly moved up the ranks, covering such events as the
Columbine High School shootings, President Bill Clinton’s
impeachment trial, the Kosovo war and Princess Diana’s
funeral.
More recently, he brought his programs to Mississippi for
live coverage of Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath. In March,
he broadcast live from the Oxford Square for two days as
part of the network’s coverage of the Mississippi
primaries.
With Smith as its anchor, “The Fox Report” ranks as one of
the top five cable news programs and has been No. 1 in the
6 p.m. time slot for more than 60 consecutive months.
For more information on UM commencement activities or for
assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7318.