AMHERST — CNN anchor Jake Tapper, who is also the cable network’s chief Washington correspondent, will be the featured speaker at the undergraduate commencement at the University of Massachusetts this spring.
The ceremony will take place at McGuirk Alumni Stadium May 11 at 4:30 p.m.
Tapper hosts a one-hour weekday program, “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” and the Sunday morning show “State of the Union.” Both shows include interviews with national and world newsmakers in the politics and policy arenas.
Recently, he moderated the town hall discussion following the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Tapper also served as moderator for two presidential primaries in 2016.
UMass Chancelllor Kumble Subbaswamy said in a statement that Tapper is an appropriate speaker for the commencement in an era when press freedom is under attack.
“Jake Tapper’s steadfast commitment to fact-based debate and responsible journalism in our tumult-filled times has rightly earned him widespread praise and respect,” Subbaswamy said. “I know our graduating class will be keenly interested in his insights about the changing nature of the media and the American political and cultural landscape.”
Tapper has earned numerous awards, including a 2017 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism, the Los Angeles Press Club’s Presidents Award for Impact on Media, and the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s Tribute to Exemplary Journalism.
He is also the author of three books, including “The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor,” “Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency” and “Body Slam: The Jesse Ventura Story.”
Tapper graduated Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1991 and lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, daughter and son.