Ben Stein to Deliver UVM Commencement Address

The multi-talented Ben Stein, actor/comedian/lawyer/economist/presidential speechwriter/filmmaker, will address the graduates and receive an honorary degree at the University of Vermont's 205th commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 17.
Popularly known as the host of Comedy Central's seven-time Emmy award winning game show, "Win Ben Stein's Money," and for an iconic classroom scene in the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Stein is also an accomplished writer who has published 30 books and written for publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times to E! Online and New York Magazine. Stein earned his undergraduate degree with honors in economics from Columbia University and went on to graduate as valedictorian of his class from Yale Law School. He has taught at American University, the University of California at Santa Cruz and Pepperdine University in subjects ranging from political and social content of mass culture to securities law. Along with his academic and entertainment achievements, Stein has as served as a trial lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission and as White House speechwriter for presidents Nixon and Ford.
In addition to Ben Stein, UVM will award honorary degrees at Commencement 2009 to the following individuals:
Dr. Ben R. Forsyth has served the University of Vermont as professor of medicine, senior vice president, trustee and advisor. He completed his medical training at New York University in 1957 and joined UVM College of Medicine in 1966. In addition to a distinguished career of teaching and research on infectious diseases, Forsyth has proved an invaluable administrator and mentor, including service from 1985-1990 as second-in-command to UVM president Lattie Coor. In 1990, he followed Coor to Arizona State University where Forsyth would serve as senior executive assistant and then provost. Forsyth's service to UVM continued when he joined the university's board of trustees from 1996 to 2002.
Anthony Marro, UVM Class of 1965, was an award-winning reporter and longtime editor of Newsday, one of the nation's largest newspapers. His long career in journalism began at Marro's hometown Rutland Herald, where he worked on the sports desk during his high school years. As a reporter for The New York Times and Newsweek during the Watergate years, Marro covered some of the era's biggest stories from his Justice Department beat. Across decades at Newsday, Marro was a dogged reporter on investigative teams that won Pulitzers for Public Service Reporting in 1970 and 1974. He moved into the managing editor's role in 1981 and six years later rose to editor, a post he held until his retirement in 2003. Newsday earned a dozen Pulitzer Prizes under Anthony Marro's leadership.
Gretchen B. Morse, UVM Class of 1975, has spent 30 years in public service working to improve the health and wellbeing of Vermonters. As director of the United Way of Chittenden County for the past 18 years and as a Vermont State legislator from 1985-1997, Morse worked to help countless numbers of residents in need and organizations dedicated to helping Vermonters improve their quality of life. In addition to serving as commissioner of the Vermont Commission on Women, Morse has served as a board member on a number of organizations including the Lake Champlain regional Chamber of Commerce; Vermont Health Foundation; Wake Robin; and Fletcher Allen Health Care.
William Pickens III is the founder and president of Bill Pickens Associates, Inc., an international consulting and executive search firm, and also the founding president and chief executive officer of the Paul Robeson Foundation. A 1958 graduate of the University of Vermont, he went on to build a successful career in business while simultaneously dedicating his efforts to public service. He was vice president for the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, where he led peacekeeping missions to South Africa and Northern Ireland, and was a founding trustee and secretary of the United States Japan Foundation. Mr. Pickens is a member and former director of the Executive Committee of the NAACP, which was co-founded by his grandfather in 1909.
For more information on UVM's 2009 commencement ceremony go to: www.uvm.edu/commencement