Brian Williams '69 among International group to be honored by College

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Grand Rapids, Michigan (April 24, 2006) - The name Brian Williams is well known in network broadcasting circles both in the United States and Canada. But the name belongs to different individuals - one an NBC News anchor, the other a sportscaster with Canada's CBC Network who is known as the "Dean of Canadian Sportscasters."

CBC Sportscaster Brian Williams, a 1969 graduate of ñ, will deliver the keynote address, Going for Gold - Striving for Success, at the school's 65th Annual Commencement program to be held Saturday, May 6, 2006, beginning at 2 p.m. in the school's Field House on East Fulton Street. Williams, a Canadian sportscaster for more than three decades, will also receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for his years of service to international sports broadcasting and for his contributions to many Canadian non-profit organizations.

Aquinas injected an international theme into this year's ceremony by recognizing several others with foreign roots., Sr. Amata Fabbro, O.P., of Italian descent, Professor Emerita of Theology and a 1961 Aquinas graduate, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree for her contributions and her 39 years of service to ñ. The Honorable Clement Terence Chiwaya, a native of Malawi, Africa and a 2002 graduate of Aquinas, who will receive an Honorary Doctor of Social Sciences degree for his work on behalf of the constituents in his impoverished village of Mpondasi. And Jorge Luis Acevedo Vargas, coordinator for the College's Costa Rican program, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts for his many contributions to education, music and culture worldwide.