NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams will deliver the 2010 Commencement address, University spokesman Dennis Brown told The Observer.
In a release given exclusively to The Observer, University President Fr. John Jenkins expressed his excitement that Williams accepted The University's invitation.
"Mr. Williams is one of this country's most respected and trusted journalists, and we are absolutely delighted that he has accepted our invitation," Jenkins said. "He has tremendous insight into the current state of our world, and I know his perspectives will be of great interest to our graduating Class of 2010."
Williams is the managing editor of NBC Nightly News and has covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the War in Iraq and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
He joined NBC news in 1993 after working for seven years as a correspondent and anchor for CBS news.
Williams will be one of several journalists to deliver Notre Dame's Commencement address. Tom Brokaw gave the address in 1993 and Tim Russert spoke to the class of 2002. William F. Buckley Jr. delivered the Commencement address in 1978 and Mark Shields in 1997.
President Barack Obama delivered last year's Commencement speech, an invitation that generated nationwide controversy regarding the president's views on abortion.
Williams has received several awards for anchoring and reporting, including four Edward R. Murrow awards, five Emmy Awards, the duPont-Columbia University Award, the 2009 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism and the industry's highest honor, the George Foster Peabody Award.
