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May 9, 2005
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Media Contact: |
Mike Andrei
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CBS News Correspondent Dan Rather to Speak at 2005 Daemen College Commencement
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CBS News Correspondent Dan Rather will give the address at the 2005 Daemen College Commencement exercises. The 2005 Daemen Commencement will take place 2:00 P.M., Saturday, May 21, at Kleinhans in Buffalo. The College will award 717 undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Rather was anchor and managing editor for the CBS Evening News for 24 years, and is currently a correspondent for 60 Minutes. From Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, when he kept the American people informed of the details of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, to Beijing, Bosnia, Haiti and Hong Kong decades later, he has covered most of the world's major news stories. His reporting has included the civil rights movement in the South, the White House, the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf and Yugoslavia and the quest for peace in South Africa and the Middle East. Rather joined CBS News in 1962 as chief of its Southwest bureau in Dallas. In 1963, he was appointed chief of the Southern bureau in New Orleans, responsible for coverage of news events in the South, Southwest, Mexico and Central America. During that time, he reported on racial conflicts in the South and the crusade of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the death of President Kennedy. Rather began his career in journalism in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Later, he was a reporter for United Press International (1950-52), KSAM Radio in Huntsville (1950-53), KTRH Radio in Houston and the Houston Chronicle (1954-55). He became news director of KTRH in 1956 and a reporter for KTRK-TV Houston in 1959. Prior to joining CBS News, Rather was news director at KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston. In 2002 and 2003, the war on terrorism has taken him to Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Israel. In February 2003, Rather secured an exclusive one-on-one with Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, the first the Iraqi leader had conducted with an American journalist since 1991. Rather also reported from Kabul on the United States' effort to oust the Taliban and from Jerusalem and the West Bank during the largest Israeli military action in two decades. Rather is a prolific writer. In addition to his latest book, The American Dream, he is the author of Deadlines and Datelines, (1999); The Camera Never Blinks Twice: The Further Adventures of a Television Journalist (1994); I Remember (1991); The Camera Never Blinks (1977); and The Palace Guard (1974). He also abridged Mark Sullivan's landmark popular history, Our Times: America at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century. Dan Rather has received virtually every honor in broadcast journalism, including numerous Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and citations from critical, scholarly, professional and charitable organizations. During his 35 years with CBS News, Rather has held positions ranging from co-editor of 60 Minutes to anchor of "CBS Reports" and anchor of the weekend and weeknight editions of the CBS Evening News. He has served as CBS News bureau chief in London and Saigon and was the White House correspondent during the Johnson and Nixon administrations. From March 9, 1981, to March 9, 2004, Rather served as anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News. He anchored and reported for 48 Hours from its premiere on Jan. 19, 1988, through September 2002. Rather was born Oct. 31, 1931, in Wharton, Texas. In 1953, he received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State Teachers College. He also attended the University of Houston and the South Texas School of Law. In October 1994, Rather was honored by Sam Houston State, which named its journalism and communications building after him. |