By Heather Fabritze
Outgoing News Editor
On April 11, the Washington College website announced that the keynote speaker for the 242nd commencement ceremony would be esteemed journalist Jonathan Karl.
Karl is best known as ABC News’ Chief Washington Correspondent and the co-anchor of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
The Honors and Awards Committee — which consists of two students, a few faculty members, and a member of the Board of Visitors and Governors — chooses the speaker every year. Their selection receives an honorary doctorate from the College.
For 2025, the President’s Office sent the committee two different options. Senior Stephen Hook, who was a student representative on Honors and Awards, described both candidates as strong choices.
“Karl is a very timely fit because of his work on the current president and how political powers have shifted in recent years,” Hook said. “He has a unique tie to [WC] as his brother went here. We are really glad to bring a national news figure to the College…and we think that he has very important insight into the political climate that we will be entering as we graduate.”
According to the WC website, Karl covered seven past presidential elections. Multiple of his published books focus on President Donald Trump, including his New York Times bestsellers “Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party,” “Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show” and “Front Row at the Trump Show.”
Karl is publishing his next book, “Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America,” on Oct. 28.
Associate Professor of English Dr. Elizabeth O’Connor seconds Hook’s belief that Karl is a particularly relevant choice to give the keynote.
“Karl’s 35-year career has covered many political epochs, and his front-row seat to the current administration provides our students with a valuable eyewitness to this aspect of American history,” Dr. O’Connor said.
In the past, Karl won an Emmy, the Walter Cronkite Award, and multiple honors from the Radio and TV Correspondents’ Association, according to the WC website. He was also the former President of the White House Correspondents’ Association, placing him directly on the frontlines of political reporting.
President of the College Dr. Mike Sosulski said that he was pleased with the candidates that the Honors and Awards Committee proposed. Both would prompt conversation among the attendees at commencement.
“[Karl is a] very timely, extremely knowledgeable person about our current social and political climate in the country,” President Sosulski said. “I think people want to talk about [it], and we should be talking about it.”
Because of Karl’s area of focus, Hook feels that his speech will reflect both the general cultural environment and the political passion of the Class of 2025.
“The keynote speaker really represents where we are as a College [and] what we want our final message to be to the graduates that are leaving the College…[They] often set the tone for commencement, and I believe Karl has an inspiring story to tell and will be a really effective commencement speaker,” Hook said.
The graduation ceremony for the Class of 2025 is on May 18 on the Campus Green.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: Karl’s brother is an alum of Washington College.