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Release date: May 10, 2006 Mo Rocca to Deliver Emory Class Day Speech
Rocca, contributor to NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and former correspondent for Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart, is known for his wacky, tongue-in-cheek news reports and hilarious commentary. He is regularly seen on VH1's "I Love..." series. "We are excited and happy to bring Mo Rocca to campus. In the search for a speaker, we looked for someone who could draw a large and diverse crowd. I think Rocca's intelligence, humor and life experiences will do just that. The seniors should be excited because Rocca caters his speeches to his audience so this Class Day will be one of a kind," says Kristina Garcia, an Emory senior who headed the student committee to select the speaker. A regular panelist on NPR's "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" Rocca also is a frequent commentator for "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," "Larry King Live" and the Fox News Channel. He currently hosts "Whoa! Sunday" which premiered in 2006 on Animal Planet. Rocca is author of "All the Presidents' Pets," a satire of investigative journalism that blows the lid off of a long-held secret in Washington: the presidents' pets are more than just photo ops. The former president of and a writer for Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Rocca began his career in TV as a writer and producer for the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning PBS children's series "Wishbone." Rocca went on to write and produce four other kids series, including ABC's "Pepper Ann" and Nickelodeon's "The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss," a pre-school series combining the whimsy of Seuss characters with the magic of Henson puppetry. Rocca tackled a broad range of topics on The Daily Show, including profiles of eccentrics ranging from a man so obsessed with First Ladies that he dresses up as Florence Harding (wife of Warren), to a husband and wife pet mummification team. Class Day at Emory is an event students and administrators developed together to give undergraduates their own tradition and the opportunity to hear from a well-known speaker of their choice. The university's central commencement ceremonies will be Monday, May 15 and will feature a keynote address by Children's Defense Fund Founder Marian Wright Edelman. The winners of the Boisfeuillet Jones Medals, given in honor of one of Emory's most distinguished graduates, also will be announced during Class Day ceremonies. Recipients are selected for their good citizenship, outstanding leadership, devoted service to Emory and the community, academic performance and potential to effect positive change in their chosen profession and society at large. Senior superlatives also will be announced, and the third Brit Katz Senior Appreciation Award will be given on behalf of the senior class to an Emory administrator or staff member. Class Day is the first of three events for seniors held on the Thursday before commencement. At the Class of 2006 reception from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Emory Conference Center Hotel, seniors will offer the traditional Coca-Cola toast. Following the reception, graduating seniors will take part in a ceremonial candlelight walk across the Houston Mill Road pedestrian bridge to Emory's Miller-Ward Alumni House for dessert and entertainment. ### Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system. Subscribe to News@Emory RSS feeds for automatic updates of the latest news at Emory. |
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