There will be different speakers for the UI campuswide commencement ceremonies scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. May 13 at Assembly Hall. News analyst and best-selling author Cokie Roberts will speak at the morning ceremony, and Orion Samuelson, widely regarded as the best-known agricultural broadcaster in the U.S., will speak at the afternoon ceremony.
Roberts, a political commentator for ABC News, originally had been scheduled to speak at both ceremonies, but is unable to because of a scheduling conflict.
Roberts, who provides analysis for all network news programming, co-anchored "This Week" from 1996-2002 with Sam Donaldson. She also serves as senior news analyst for National Public Radio.
In her more than 40 years in broadcasting, she has won numerous awards, including three Emmys. She is a member of the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, and was cited by American Women in Radio and Television as one of the 50 greatest women in the history of broadcasting.
Roberts and her husband, Steven V. Roberts, write a weekly column syndicated in newspapers around the country by United Media. The Robertses also are contributing editors to USA Weekend Magazine. Their co-written book "Our Haggadah: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families" was published in 2011. Their earlier collaboration, "From This Day Forward," an account of their more than 40-year marriage and other marriages in American history, was a New York Times best-selling book.
All of Cokie Roberts' other books have been best-sellers, including a No. 1 best-seller, "We Are Our Mothers' Daughters," an account of women's roles and relationships throughout American history. Her other books - "Founding Mothers," published in 2004, and "Ladies of Liberty," 2008 - are histories of women in America's founding era.
Roberts holds more than 25 honorary degrees and serves on the boards of several non-profit institutions. In 2008 the Library of Congress named her a "Living Legend," one of few Americans to have attained that honor.
She is the mother of two and grandmother of six.
Born on a dairy farm near La Crosse, Wis., Samuelson considered becoming a Lutheran minister before deciding on six months of radio school instead. Prior to being named farm service director for WGN in Chicago, Samuelson served as farm director of WBAY stations in Green Bay, Wis. Today Samuelson is heard over a syndicate of 260 stations broadcasting his "National Farm Report" daily and with "Samuelson Sez," a weekly series allowing Samuelson to offer opinions and observations on the agricultural community. Since 1975, he has produced and has been the host of "U.S. Farm Report," a weekly television program seen on 190 Midwest stations.
In May 2001, Samuelson was named a Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois and received the Lincoln Medal, the highest award given by the state of Illinois. A week later the UI presented him with an honorary doctoral degree.