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Bill Kurtis to Address 2006 Chicago-Kent Graduates

May 21 ceremonies will be held at McCormick Place

CHICAGO–March 20, 2006 –- Journalist Bill Kurtis will deliver the commencement address at Chicago-Kent College of Law’s 2006 ceremonies on Sunday, May 21, at 11 a.m. Commencement will be held in the Arie Crown Theatre at McCormick Place’s Lakeside Center, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive, in Chicago. Approximately 250 students are expected to receive Juris Doctor degrees and 30 Master of Laws degrees will be conferred. [Commencement Web site]

Kurtis began his television career at WIBW-TV, a CBS station in Topeka, Kansas. In 1966, Kurtis was hired by WBBM-TV in Chicago where he was a field reporter and later anchor of the “Channel Two News.” In 1982, Kurtis moved on to the network level at CBS where he anchored the “CBS Morning News” and contributed to “CBS Reports.”

Returning to Chicago and WBBM-TV as news anchor in 1985, Kurtis also began his career as a documentarian. In 1990, he founded Kurtis Productions and began producing programs for A&E, including the long-running, award-winning “Investigative Reports” and “Cold Case Files.” He also produced “Investigating History” for the History Channel. Kurtis has served as the host of A&E's “American Justice,” the longest running non-fiction justice series on cable. A published author, his most recent book, The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice, explores issues surrounding capital punishment in America.

Kurtis is a member of the board of directors of several distinguished organizations including the Nature Conservancy, the National Park Foundation, and the Field Museum of Chicago. He is a former board member of the Library of International Relations, which is housed at Chicago-Kent.