ABC News journalist to speak at graduation

Bob Woodruff comes to SU 13 months after nearly-fatal injury in Iraq

By: Stephanie Musat

Posted: 3/3/08

ABC News journalist Bob Woodruff was selected to deliver the 2008 Commencement Address to Syracuse University and the College of Environmental Science and Forestry graduates for this year's commencement exercises, according to Syracuse University press release that SU released today.

Woodruff was chosen as this year's commencement speaker by a student committee composed of senior class marshals, student marshals from each of the university's colleges and three student representatives to the University's Board of Trustees. The committee took suggestions from the SU Web site, and the suggestions were reviewed and then presented to Chancellor Nancy Cantor.

Cantor personally invited Woodruff to speak.

"I am very pleased that Bob Woodruff will share his inspiring words with our graduates, their families and the community, drawn from his professional experiences as an international journalist and his more personal experiences with coping and recovery," Cantor said in a press release. "He is an individual of remarkable courage and professionalism and is a great model of human resiliency.

Woodruff joined ABC News in 1996 and was named co-anchor of ABC's "World News Tonight" in December 2005. He was previously the anchor of the weekend edition of "World News Tonight" and one of ABC News' top correspondents, covering Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Indonesia and the nuclear conflicts in Iran and North Korea.

On Jan. 29, 2006, while reporting in Iraq on U.S. and Iraqi security forces, Woodruff was seriously injured by a roadside bomb that struck his vehicle. He suffered from severe head injuries.

Today, Woodruff has returned to work at ABC News after recovering from the life-threatening head injury.

His coverage of the fallout from Sept. 11 was recognized with the Alfred I. duPont Award and the George Foster Peabody Award, the two highest honors in broadcast journalism. He was also a member of the ABC News team, which received an Alfred I. duPont award for live coverage of the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI.

Graduation will take place on May 11 in the Carrier Dome.

sdmusat@syr.edu