The Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California will award doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degrees to nearly 800 students on May 16 during the 2008 commencement ceremonies. The Huffington Post co-founder and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington and Oscar-winning actor and gender-equity advocate Geena Davis will deliver keynote speeches at the School of Journalism and School of Communication ceremonies, respectively.

Huffington will speak at the School of Journalism ceremony at USC’s ArguePlaza and Davis will speak at the School of Communication ceremony at USC’s McCarthy Quad. Both ceremonies begin at 10:30 a.m., after the main University activities conclude. The University-wide ceremony starts at 8:30 with a recommended arrival time of 7 a.m. or earlier.

Huffington is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of 12 books. She is also co-host of “Left, Right & Center,” public radio’s popular political roundtable program. In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that has quickly become one of the most widely read, linked-to and frequently cited media brands on the Internet. In 2006, she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

Davis is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning actor and successful film producer. As a passionate supporter of girls and women, Davis founded The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, focused on dramatically increasing the percentage of female characters – and reducing gender stereotyping – in movies, TV and other media aimed at children aged 11 years and younger. The Geena Davis Institute has partnered with USC Annenberg to research how females are portrayed in movies and television.

USC Annenberg Commencement  
University Ceremony