Award-winning NPR correspondent, alumna to give commencement address at Benedictine
Carrie Johnson, Class of 1994, an award-winning correspondent for NPR's Washington desk, will address graduates at Benedictine University's 126th Commencement Convocation on Saturday, May 14, at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex.
Johnson covers a variety of 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 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 closely observed the FBI, the Justice Department and criminal trials of the former leaders of Enron, HealthSouth Corp. and Tyco. Earlier in her career, she wrote about law for the weekly publication Legal Times.
Her work has been honored with awards from the Robert F. Kennedy Center Human Rights, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. She was a finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism and for the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for team coverage of the massacre in Fort Hood, Texas.
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. A reception will be held immediately after each ceremony in the Krasa Quad.
For more information about Commencement ceremonies at Benedictine University, visit ben.edu/commencement.