USC selects renowned journalist for address
Tom Brokaw, the award-winning NBC journalist and author of the best-seller "The Greatest Generation," will speak at USC's commencement exercises next month.
Brokaw's address will come at the university's graduation ceremony on Dec. 12 at 3:30 p.m. inside the Colonial Life Arena. He will also receive a honorary doctorate of humane letters from USC.
"He's a superb speaker and a person most people in America look up to and think highly of," said Tommy Stepp, secretary of USC's board of trustees. "It's such a great honor to have him on campus."
Stepp said he contacted people who knew Brokaw but declined to provide further details on how USC landed the speaker. Brokaw has no obvious ties to the university. USC confirmed the news in response to frequent questions by The Daily Gamecock. As with all graduation speakers, Brokaw won't be paid for his speech, Stepp said.
Brokaw was a longtime "NBC Nightly News" anchor before stepping down in 2004. He now is a special correspondent for the network, according to NBC's website. Brokaw will soon release another book, "Boom!: Voices of the Sixties Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today."
Stepp said he wasn't sure if Brokaw would make any other appearances on campus. Speakers for the other four December graduation ceremonies haven't been announced yet.
Brokaw won't be the only high-profile lecture on campus in the upcoming weeks. Walter Isaacson, author of the new best-selling autobiography on Steve Jobs, will deliver a lecture on campus Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. inside the Darla Moore School of Business.