Newswise — On Sunday, May 30, Elmhurst College will hold its annual spring Commencement ceremony at 2:00 p.m. on the College Mall, located at 190 Prospect Avenue, Elmhurst.
The Commencement address will be delivered by Phil Ponce, anchor of Chicago Tonight on WTTW Channel 11 (Chicago's Public Television affiliate), and its Managing Editor for News, News Analysis and Public Affairs. He will also be awarded an honorary doctoral degree.
More than 500 new Elmhurst College graduates will be awarded Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Liberal Studies degrees at the ceremony. Elmhurst College will also confer graduate degrees in each of its seven master's-level programs.
Mr. Ponce has won five Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists. He spent two years as PBS' national correspondent for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, in addition to his work with WTTW (12 years), WBBM-TV 2, and the Chicago Tribune. In an industry which too often focuses on style at the expense of substance, Ponce has distinguished himself as a serious journalist. He earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Indiana University and a law degree from the University of Michigan.
In addition to Ponce, two other outstanding individuals will be awarded honorary doctorate degrees during this year's Elmhurst College Commencement. They are August J. Molnar, President of the American Hungarian Foundation, and Elizabeth Niebuhr Sifton, distinguished editor and publisher, and daughter of famed theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (a member of the Elmhurst College Class of 1910).
August J. Molnar, a member of the Elmhurst Class of 1949, is the founder and current president of an organization that funds academic and research programs in Hungarian studies. In addition, the American Hungarian Foundation has opened a Hungarian museum, library and archive in America. Molnar is widely recognized for his leadership, both in the Hungarian community and beyond. He holds a divinity degree from Lancaster Seminary and a master's degree from the University of Michigan, and was a Cholnoky Research Fellow at Columbia University.
Elizabeth Niebuhr Sifton is Senior Vice President with New York City publishing house Farrar, Straus and Giroux, as well as Publisher with Hill and Wang. She has recently written a notable book on Reinhold Niebuhr's life and legacy, titled The Serenity Prayer: Faith and Politics in Times of Peace and War. Sifton is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Harvard University Press Board of Directors; she has also served on the boards of Union Theological Seminary and the French-American Foundation. Sifton is an alumna of both Radcliffe College and the Fulbright Program.
Elmhurst College is a premier comprehensive college in metropolitan Chicago. For 133 years, the College has sought to prepare students superbly—for their first jobs, and for lifetimes of personal and professional fulfillment. On a classic campus, in a charming suburb, the College offers students of many ages and backgrounds purposeful learning for the whole of life.
Founded in 1871, Elmhurst College is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.
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