Newswise — The 62nd Annual Iona College Commencement exercises for undergraduate and graduate students will take place Sunday, May 21 at 6 p.m. in The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Mary Alice Williams, award winning writer, anchor and network executive for over 35 years, will receive an honorary doctorate and address the 700 students receiving bachelor's degrees and the 300 students receiving master's degrees. Linda Kelly, superintendent of schools for the City of New Rochelle, will also receive an honorary doctorate at the ceremony.
Williams, a preeminent figure in broadcasting, was one of the founding designers and anchors of CNN, the first worldwide television network where she served as principal anchor during the 1980s and was later named vice president of the New York Bureau, making her one of the highest-ranking female executives in American television. After moving to NBC in 1989, she was the first woman to win a national Emmy Award for anchoring an evening newscast. Numerous accolades have followed, including those for her work at PBS as a contributing correspondent and anchor on "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly" ; for her documentary on Lifetime Television about women, work and the American family; for her ground-breaking partnership with the March of Dimes on the Discovery Health Channel to raise awareness of the growing problem of premature births; and for her continuing analysis and insight as a news reporter on WCBS Radio.
As superintendent since 1992, Kelly has directed the transformation of the schools of New Rochelle into national models of excellence. Retiring this June, she leaves a rich legacy that has brought recognition to students, programs and the district itself, including Blue Ribbons from the U.S. Department of Education and rankings that place New Rochelle High School (NRHS) in the top two percent of U.S. high schools and the district itself among the best in the country. Kelly began working in New Rochelle as an intern in the social studies department of NRHS while studying for her master's degree, and then joined the high school staff as a world history teacher. Beginning her administrative career in 1973 as assistant to the principal and then as associate principal of the high school, she became the district's assistant superintendent in 1985 and later became associate superintendent.
Founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, Iona College is a private, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of American Catholic higher education. Iona, currently listed in the US News and World Report's annual "America's Best Colleges 2006" and The Princeton Review's Best Northeastern Colleges 2006 edition, offers undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science, and business administration, as well as master of arts, master of science and master of business administration degrees and numerous post-graduate certificate programs.
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