Ellen Goodman, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist, Speaks at Colorado State All-University Commencement May 17

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ellen Goodman will give the keynote address to Colorado State University faculty, graduating students, family and friends at the all-university commencement this spring.

Universitywide commencement ceremonies will be 9-10:30 a.m.

May 17 at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins. The ceremonies will feature an address by syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman, remarks and conferral of degrees by university President Albert Yates and recognition of doctoral candidates. Traditional convocation ceremonies for all eight colleges will take place the afternoon of May 17 at venues throughout campus, while ROTC Commissioning and the Professional Veterinary Medicine convocation will be held the evening of May 16.

Goodman, whose "At Large" column appears in more than 440 newspapers across the country, has attracted national attention for her incisive common sense and verbal flair since 1976, when her Boston Globe column was first syndicated by the Washington Post Writers Group.

In 1980, Goodman won the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary.

"Ellen Goodman is a pioneer," wrote Debra Saunders in the San Francisco Chronicle. "She got into journalism when women generally were relegated to research and women’s pages. But she rose to reporter for the Boston Globe, then became a columnist. Her role as a trailblazer female journalist led her to write about women’s issues often ignored by male columnists on America’s opinion pages.

Her columns are known for their personal touch." Goodman graduated from Radcliffe College cum laude in 1963 and published her first book on social change, "Turning Points," in 1979.

Five collections of her columns also have been published, including "Close to Home" (1979), "At Large" (1981), "Keeping in Touch" (1985), "Making Sense" (1989), and "Value Judgments" (1993).

Her work also has appeared in many publications, including Life, Ms, The New York Times Book Review, Savvy, The Los Angeles Times Book Review and Working Woman.

Goodman has earned a number of awards, including the American Society of Newspaper Editors Distinguished Writing Award in 1980. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights presented her the Hubert H.

Humphrey Civil Rights Award in 1988 for her dedication to the cause of equality.

In 1993, Goodman received the President’s Award from the national Women’s Political Caucus at its Seventh Annual Exceptional Merit Media Award ceremony.

Goodman was the first Lorry I. Lokey Visiting Professor in Professional Journalism at Stanford University.

At the commencement ceremony May 17, Yates and a representative from the State Board of Agriculture will confer all undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. In addition, all doctoral candidates will be hooded and recognized.

The all-university commencement will take place at Hughes Stadium rain or shine.