News > February 26, 2008

By Kevin Koehler | Opinion editor

Longtime Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. will deliver this year's commencement address May 19, the university has announced.

E.J. Dionne

Dionne writes primarily about politics for the Post and over 100 newspaper syndicates nationwide.

He's also a commentator for National Public Radio, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, professor at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute and an author, most recently of Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics after the Religious Right.

"In this election year, it is fitting that we hear from one of our nation's foremost thinkers and writers about political scene," said university President Nathan O. Hatch in a statement. "E.J. Dionne asks his readers ... to engage in thoughtful policy debates about our nation's future. I look forward to what promises to be a timely and memorable address."

Dionne visited campus previously to take part in Hatch's 2005 inauguration festivities, leading a symposium called "The Moral Challenges of Public Life."

Dionne bears a number of similarities to David Brooks, last year's commencement speaker. Brooks writes for the New York Times, also about politics in a widely syndicated column, was once a visiting professor at Duke University, is a well-known author and contributes commentary to NPR.

In fact, the two men regularly appear together on NPR as sparring partners to discuss news of the day, Brooks' more conservative views countering Dionne's left-leaning perspective.

Dionne's previous books include They Only Look Dead: Why Progressives will Dominate the Next Political Era and Why Americans Hate Politics, which was nominated for a National Book Award.

He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1973 and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he earned a Ph.D. He worked as a reporter at the New York Times for 14 years before beginning his column at the Post in 1993. He has been named one of the 25 most influential Washington journalists by the National Journal and given the Care McWilliams Ward by the American Political Science Association for major journalistic contribution to the understanding of politics.

In addition, the Right Reverend Vashti M. McKenzie has been tapped to give the baccalaureate address May 18, according to the university. McKenzie is the presiding prelate of the 13th Episcopal District and president of the Council of Bishops in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She is the highest ranking woman in the AME denomination and the first woman to lead the Council. McKenzie has authored three books, Not Without a Struggle, Strength in the Struggle and Journey to the Well.