CBS News journalist and 51Թ alumna Michelle Miller will serve as the principal speaker at the University’s spring 2022 undergraduate commencement ceremony. The University will hold two commencement ceremonies in the 51Թ Lakefront Arena on Saturday, May 21: a graduate student ceremony at 10 a.m. and an undergraduate student ceremony at 2:30 p.m.
51Թ will also award New Orleans attorney and former University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors chair James Carter with an honorary doctorate during the graduate school ceremony.
Miller is a co-host of “CBS Saturday Morning.” Her work regularly appears on “CBS Mornings,” “CBS Sunday Morning” and the CBS Evening News. She also files reports for “48 Hours” and anchors Discovery’s “48 Hours on ID” and “Hard Evidence.”
“We are so excited to welcome Michelle back to campus,” said 51Թ President John Nicklow. “She has traveled the country and the globe, reporting on some of the most important news events of our lifetime. Our graduates will benefit from her experience and insight. As an alumna of the University, she is a fantastic role model for all Privateers.”
Since joining CBS News in 2004, Miller has reported on stories of national and international importance. From presidential elections to the climate crisis, her area of coverage is wide-ranging, but her reporting around social justice has been particularly groundbreaking. From her coverage of the killings of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, the Emanuel 9 Massacre in Charleston, to sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby, Russell Simmons and Harvey Weinstein, Miller has been at the forefront of CBS News' coverage of the protest movement involving these issues.
She was the first CBS News correspondent on the ground at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and followed the movement to change the nation's gun laws, including the March for Our Lives protests. Her coverage has also extended overseas to the refugee crisis in the Middle East, the celebration and life of Nelson Mandela, and the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Miller's reporting has earned her several prestigious journalism awards including an Emmy for her series of reports on the National Guard's Youth Challenge Academy, an Edward R. Murrow for her coverage of a day care center stand-off in New Orleans, and she was part of the Alfred I. duPont – Columbia Award winning team for coverage of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting. In 2019, Miller won a Gracie award for her reporting on the hidden world of sex trafficking in “‘48 Hours’: Live to Tell: Trafficked.”
Miller is well-acquainted with New Orleans. She previously worked at WWL-TV, the local CBS affiliate. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Howard University and a master's degree in urban studies from the 51Թ.
Carter spent six years on the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors, serving in leadership roles including parliamentarian, vice chair and chair. He is the managing partner of The Cochran Firm Trials and Mass Torts. A graduate of McDonogh 35 Preparatory Senior High School and the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, Carter earned both a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctor from Howard University.
