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Award-Winning Journalist Anne Thompson to Give Keynote Address at STAC Commencement

May 12, 2022

Award-Winning Journalist Anne Thompson to Give Keynote Address at STAC Commencement

Anne Thompson, Chief Environmental Correspondent at NBC News, will deliver the keynote address at St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) 65th Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 20, 2022. Commencement will be held at Clover Stadium in Pomona, NY — home of the New York Boulders and the STAC Baseball Spartans.

STAC will honor an estimated 375 undergraduate and graduate degree recipients during the ceremony. Godson Nartey ’22, a Biology major with a Performing Arts minor, will perform the National Anthem. During the ceremony, the College will also confer an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to Ms. Thompson - an award that reflects her lifelong commitment to making a profound difference in the lives of others.  

“We are delighted that Ms. Anne Thompson will be the Commencement Speaker given the passion that our students have for environmental sustainability,” said STAC President Ken Daly. “In fact, just last month, our students coordinated our first-ever “STAC Springs to Life Earth Day Celebration” for over 500 members of our local community right here on our front lawn. Climate Change is truly the defining issue of our time and we believe our students will become the leaders we need for a cleaner, greener future. We thank Ms. Thompson for serving as a role model to our students and for helping to inspire their passion.”

Ms. Thompson has been Chief Environmental Correspondent with NBC News since 2007 and previously held the role of Chief Financial Correspondent. She regularly appears on “NBC Nightly News,” “Today,” MSNBC, and NBCNews.com. Ms. Thompson has traveled across the globe to locations such as Copenhagen to cover climate change negotiations, and to Greenland, Costa Rica, the Amazon, Australia, and Europe to cover issues such as alternative fuels, global warming, land usage, and new technologies. Earlier this year, she was a correspondent for NBC’s coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China. She is currently in her 25th year at NBC.

When asked about being the keynote speaker and the recipient of an honorary doctorate degree, Ms. Thompson stated, “I am humbled and honored to be part of St. Thomas Aquinas College’s Class of 2022. Their commitment to the environment shows what is possible when we work together. These students give me great hope that their generation will make much needed progress in solving the challenges we face.”

Ms. Thompson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from University of Notre Dame, where she was elected as a member of the Board of Trustees in 2010.

Anne smiling wearing black blazer and pearl necklace short blonde hair and nbc peacock rainbow logo in bottom right

Anne Thompson, Chief Environmental Correspondent at NBC News, will deliver the keynote address at St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) 65th Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 20, 2022. Commencement will be held at Clover Stadium in Pomona, NY — home of the New York Boulders and the STAC Baseball Spartans.

STAC will honor an estimated 375 undergraduate and graduate degree recipients during the ceremony. Godson Nartey ’22, a Biology major with a Performing Arts minor, will perform the National Anthem. During the ceremony, the College will also confer an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to Ms. Thompson - an award that reflects her lifelong commitment to making a profound difference in the lives of others.  

“We are delighted that Ms. Anne Thompson will be the Commencement Speaker given the passion that our students have for environmental sustainability,” said STAC President Ken Daly. “In fact, just last month, our students coordinated our first-ever “STAC Springs to Life Earth Day Celebration” for over 500 members of our local community right here on our front lawn. Climate Change is truly the defining issue of our time and we believe our students will become the leaders we need for a cleaner, greener future. We thank Ms. Thompson for serving as a role model to our students and for helping to inspire their passion.”

Ms. Thompson has been Chief Environmental Correspondent with NBC News since 2007 and previously held the role of Chief Financial Correspondent. She regularly appears on “NBC Nightly News,” “Today,” MSNBC, and NBCNews.com. Ms. Thompson has traveled across the globe to locations such as Copenhagen to cover climate change negotiations, and to Greenland, Costa Rica, the Amazon, Australia, and Europe to cover issues such as alternative fuels, global warming, land usage, and new technologies. Earlier this year, she was a correspondent for NBC’s coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China. She is currently in her 25th year at NBC.

When asked about being the keynote speaker and the recipient of an honorary doctorate degree, Ms. Thompson stated, “I am humbled and honored to be part of St. Thomas Aquinas College’s Class of 2022. Their commitment to the environment shows what is possible when we work together. These students give me great hope that their generation will make much needed progress in solving the challenges we face.”

Ms. Thompson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from University of Notre Dame, where she was elected as a member of the Board of Trustees in 2010.

Contact: Holly Magnani, 845.398.4020 or [email protected]
 

St. Thomas Aquinas College is an independent liberal arts college located on 72 acres in Rockland County, NY, which provides education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The College’s approximately 2,000 full and part-time students can choose from more than 100 different majors, minors, specializations, and dual-degree programs across four Schools: Arts & Social Sciences, Business, Education, and STEM. The College is recognized by U.S. News & World Report in the Top-Tier for Regional Universities, by Colleges of Distinction in both its New York and Catholic editions, by Affordable Colleges Online as a Top College in New York for Return on Investment, and is included as a Military Friendly School®. St. Thomas Aquinas College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools; its School of Education is a candidate for accreditation by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), and its School of Business is accredited by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE). For more information, visit www.stac.edu.