WATERVILLE — Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post website, will deliver the address May 22 at Colby College’s 195th commencement ceremony.
Huffington, 65, also will be given an honorary doctor of letters degree, according to a Colby news release Wednesday.
She is editor-in-chief of the namesake liberal news site, which launched in 2005 and has since amassed a huge following with liberal bloggers and other features.
“Arianna Huffington embodies the impact individuals can make when they combine great ideas with passion, hard work, and the willingness to take some risk,” Colby President David A. Greene said in the release. “These are qualities we instill in our students at Colby, and I am thrilled that our graduates will have the opportunity to hear from such an innovative leader as they prepare to make their own impact beyond our campus.”
The commencement ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 22, on Miller Library lawn, weather permitting, and will be open to the public. In the event of inclement weather, commencement will be in the Alfond Athletic Center where tickets will be required.
Born in Athens, Greece, Huffington received a master’s degree in economics from University of Cambridge in England. She moved to the U.S. in 1980 and has written more than two dozen books, including “Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption are Undermining America” and “Third World America: How Our Politicians are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream.”
Initially a conservative commentator, Huffington eventually became more liberal-leaning. She was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world and by Forbes magazine as one of the world’s most powerful women.
“Arianna Huffington’s distinguished and wide-ranging career, her interest in diverse topics of great importance to so many and her dedication to service will all contribute to her powerful message at commencement,” Greene said in the Colby press release. “We very much look forward to welcoming her to campus.”
Previous commencement speakers at Colby in recent years have included actor Robert Redford, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gregory White Smith and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Others scheduled to receive honorary doctoral degrees are Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama, who will speak at baccalaureate ceremonies May 21, the day before commencement; Jackson Laboratory president and chief executive officer, Edison T. Liu; and Lars Peter Hansen, winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.
“This year’s cohort of honorary degree recipients offers our graduates yet another example of the tremendous impact of scholarship and service on society’s most complex issues,” Greene said in a separate press release. “We look forward to honoring these four individuals as well as the accomplished members of Colby’s Class of 2016.”
About 500 students comprise the class, which Jarrett will address May 21.
“Valerie Jarrett is the model of an effective public servant,” Greene said in another release. “Selfless in her actions, she holds herself and others to the highest ideals. She moves seamlessly from business to civic leadership because she never loses sight of the values that have guided her from early in life.”
Born in Iran, Jarrett has a Juris Doctor degree from University of Michigan and a bachelor’s from Stanford University. She has served in the Obama administration since 2009, overseeing the Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, and serving as chairman of the White House Council on Women and Girls.
“We’re honored that Valerie Jarrett has agreed to share this special occasion with Colby,” Greene said in the release. “She has led a life of great meaning and purpose, so her message will have special resonance to the talented Class of 2016.”
Amy Calder — 861-9247
Twitter: @AmyCalder17
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