Washington correspondent to address Benedictine grads

Carrie Johnson, a Benedictine University alumnae and an award-winning correspondent for National Public Radio's Washington desk, will address graduates at Benedictine's 126th Commencement Convocation Saturday, May 14, at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex, 5700 College Road, Lisle.

Johnson covers legal affairs and justice and law enforcement issues for NPR's flagship programs "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered," as well as regular newscasts and on www.npr.org.

She has chronicled struggles between police and residents of minority communities, challenges to the landmark voting rights law and the Obama administration's drone program for suspected terrorists overseas, and has talked about her work on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, PBS and other news outlets.

Johnson previously worked at The Washington Post, where she observed the FBI, the Justice Department and criminal trials of the former leaders of Enron, HealthSouth Corp. and Tyco.

Johnson earned a bachelor's degree in literature and communication from Benedictine University in 1994, and a master's degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996.

Commencement ceremonies for graduates being conferred with associate and bachelor's degrees will begin at 9:45 a.m. and conclude by 11:15 a.m. The ceremony for graduates being conferred with graduate and doctoral degrees will begin at 2:30 p.m. and conclude by 4:30 p.m.