Erin Moriarty will speak at spring commencement

COLUMBUS – Erin Moriarty, an award-winning CBS correspondent and two-time graduate of The Ohio State University, will be the speaker for the university’s spring commencement set for Sunday, June 13, in Ohio Stadium. Approximately 6,800 students will receive degrees during the ceremony, which begins at 2 p.m.

Graduates and guests can find complete information on the ceremony at http://www.osu.edu/commence/

Moriarty has been a correspondent for "48 Hours" since June 1990. The investigative series, which premiered in 1988, is unique in that it delves into a single subject for each hour-long program. As a correspondent, Moriarty has conducted interviews with the famous and infamous. The stories have exposed corruption, explored unsolved crimes and investigated consumer complaints.

A native of the Columbus area, Moriarty earned a B.A. from Ohio State in 1973 and completed her law degree here in 1977. She went to elementary school in Grandview and high school in Upper Arlington.

As a young lawyer in Columbus, she became co-host of the local PM Magazine - the start of an impressive, rising career in broadcast journalism. News reporting jobs in Cleveland, Chicago and Baltimore eventually led her to CBS in 1986 where she contributed to “CBS This Morning” and the “CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.”

She has returned to Ohio State often to donate her time and talents. In 2003, she moderated the nationally televised live gubernatorial debate sponsored by the John Glenn Institute for Public Policy and Public Service. She emceed the 2000 closing ceremony to celebrate the completion of the university's five-year “Affirm Thy Friendship” fund-raising campaign. She also anchored a promotional video for the Moritz College of Law.

Drawing on her training as a lawyer, Moriarty has explored some of the most important social and legal issues of our day, such as teenagers facing the death penalty, the abortion controversy, the nation's drug and alcohol abuse problems, battered woman's syndrome and the battle to save premature babies.

Moriarty has received numerous honors, including nine national Emmy Awards for her work on “48 Hours” and the Overseas Press Award in 2001. The Consumer Federation of America presented her with the Consumer Media Service Award in 1998 for “her many contributions of both local and national significance as a consumer reporter.” She is also the recipient of the 2003 Mortar Board Alumni Achievement award.

Last year, actor and activist Christopher Reeve delivered Ohio State’s spring commencement address. Previous speakers have included President George W. Bush (2002), Bill Cosby (2001), Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Oklahoma, (2000), Dumisa Ntsebeza, a member of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (1999), columnist Bob Greene (1998) and author John Jakes (1996).
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