For Immediate Release
Contact: Sally Widman 610-409-3300[email protected]
ABC NEWS ANCHOR TO BE URSINUS COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa.(May 2, 2001)--Antonio Mora, news anchor of ABC's "Good Morning America," will speak at the 128th Ursinus College Commencement at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 19, on the front lawn of campus. The ceremony will be held outdoors, rain or shine.
(A downloadable photo of Mora is available at the Ursinus Website.)
Ursinus President John Strassburger will present undergraduate degrees to 323 members of the Ursinus Class of 2001 and confer honorary doctorates on Mora and four others.
Mora was named news anchor for "Good Morning America" in January 1999, having joined ABCNEWS in 1994 as co-host of "Good Morning America/Sunday," and later as a correspondent for "World News Tonight" with Peter Jennings.. He anchors newscasts for the early morning program, serves as chief correspondent covering national and international stories, and appears as a guest co-host. In his seven years with the network, he has contributed to almost every news program, reporting from a dozen countries on four continents, and covering many of the major stories during those years. He has won numerous awards for his work, including a national Emmy, a Peabody and an Edward R. Murrow award.
A native of Havana, Cuba, Mora began his career as a corporate lawyer in New York. He holds an L.L.M. from Harvard Law School and a J.D. from the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, Caracas, Venezuela. In the early '90s, he began a new career in broadcasting as a sports anchor and producer for Telemundo's WNJU-TV and for Univision's WXTV. During the same period he was also an original announcer of ESPN international transmissions to Latin America. Before joining ABCNEWS, he was co-host of "Good Day L.A." on KTTV in Los Angeles and an anchor for WTVJ-TV in Miami.
Mora will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws. The Rev. Delores S. Williams, professor of theology and culture at Union Theological Seminary will receive a Doctor of Divinity. Williams will deliver the baccalaureate sermon the previous evening (May 18) at 6:30 p.m. in Bomberger Auditorium. Others to receive honorary degrees will be: Abigail Adams, artistic director, People's Light and Theater Company, Malvern, Pa., a Doctor of Humane Letters; John N. Forrest, M.D., Ursinus '60, professor of medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., Doctor of Science, and the Rev. Harold Henning, Ursinus '53, of Robesonia, Pa., retired CEO of Bethany Children's Home, Womelsdorf, Pa.
Williams holds a B.A. from the University of Louisville, an M.A. from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary. Adams has been with People's Light since 1975, and directed and written numerous plays. She also teaches at Swarthmore College. Forrest earned his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1964 and heads the undergraduate research program at Yale. Henning is currently interim conference minister of the UCC's Penn Northeast Conference in Palmerton. He holds degrees from Kutztown University and Lancaster Theological Seminary.
Melissa Young of Pottstown, Pa., a communications studies and theatre major, is valedictorian of the class. A graduate of Owen J. Roberts High School, she is the daughter of Elaine Young of Pottstown.
Jeffrey Church of Kennett Square, Pa. is class salutatorian. An English and philosophy double major, he is a graduate of Unionville High School and the son of Anne and Frank Church of Kennett Square. Students elected by their classmates to speak at the ceremony will be Julian L. Castenada of Reading, Pa., and Katherine Briner of Silverdale, Pa., president of the class of 2001.
Ursinus will also host Alumni Weekend festivities on Commencement Day. Members of the Class of 1951, celebrating their 50th reunion, will process with the Class of 2001 at the opening of the commencement ceremonies. Following the convocation, the Ursinus College Alumni Association will hold its annual luncheon in Wismer Center. The classes of 1931, 1936, 1941, 1946 and 1951 will be holding reunions at various times throughout the day.
The public is welcome to attend the commencement ceremony, weather permitting. In the event of rain, families of graduates will be given priority access to seating under the tent.
Ursinus College, founded in 1869, is a highly selective, nationally ranked, independent, coeducational liberal arts college, located on a scenic, wooded, 168-acre campus 28 miles from Center City Philadelphia. The college is known for its rigorous, high quality programs in the arts and sciences.
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