Fordham University mourns the loss of groundbreaking political journalist Tim Russert, who passed away Friday, June 13, from a heart attack. He was 58.
Russert, host of NBC’s Meet the Press, delivered Fordham’s 159th Commencement address at Rose Hill in May 2004, where he was presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters by Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University.
Veteran newsman Tim Russert delivers the 2004 Commencement address at Rose Hill. Photo by Bruce Gilbert
“An eloquent and passionate voice for truth was silenced today,” said Father McShane. “In his commencement address at Fordham, Tim Russert quoted Luke: ‘To whom much is given, much indeed is expected,’ and in his words and deeds, Tim lived that ideal every day. His passing is a loss to journalism, and to the world of ideas.”
Russert, who has been the host of Meet the Press for 16 years, was also a political analyst for NBC Nightly News and the Todayshow. He anchored The Tim Russert Show on CNBC, was a contributing anchor for MSNBC, and a senior vice president and Washington bureau chief of NBC News. Russert received the Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Television Journalism, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Journalism Award, the Joan S. Barone Award and the David Brinkley Award for Excellence in Communications.
