Fareed Zakaria, Journalist and Author, To Deliver Johns Hopkins SAIS Commencement Address on May 24
Fareed Zakaria, renowned journalist and bestselling author, will deliver the keynote address during the 2023 commencement ceremony for the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
As one of the nation's most prominent news media personalities, Zakaria has had a distinguished career as a journalist, analyst, and author. He is the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN, a columnist for The Washington Post, and a bestselling author. Since its debut in 2008, GPS has featured interviews with Barack Obama, Emmanuel Macron, Narendra Modi, Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Condoleezza Rice, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Greta Thunberg, and the Dalai Lama, among others. He has won the Emmy award as well as the prestigious Peabody Award.
Zakaria is the author of four highly-regarded New York Times bestselling books: Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World, on how the pandemic reshaped society; The Post-American World, a discussion of the rise of non-Western powers; The Future of Freedom, a study of “illiberal democracy” in various countries; and In Defense of a Liberal Education, a commentary on the importance of a well-rounded education. Three of these were international bestsellers, translated into more than 20 languages. His first book, From Wealth to Power, was based on his Ph.D. dissertation and remains widely cited.
Zakaria was named a “Top 10 Global Thinker of the Last 10 Years” by Foreign Policy magazine in 2019. He has received a National Magazine Award, the Arthur Ross Media Award from the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the Deadline Club Award. In 2010, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, one of its highest civilian honors; and in 2022, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded him the Order of Merit.
Prior to his tenure at CNN, Zakaria was editor of Newsweek International, managing editor of Foreign Affairs, a columnist for Time, an analyst for ABC News, and the host of Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria on PBS.
Zakaria earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a doctorate in political science from Harvard University, and has received numerous honorary degrees, including one from Johns Hopkins University.
Zakaria will deliver an address to an audience of approximately 2,500 members of the Johns Hopkins SAIS community: graduates, faculty, staff, family, and friends. The school will confer degrees on more than 600 graduates in the Master of Arts, Master of Arts in International Economics and Finance, Master of Arts in Global Policy, Master of Arts in Global Risk, Master of International Public Policy, and Doctorate programs.
This year, SAIS Europe’s commencement will take place in Bologna, Italy on May 20. The Hopkins-Nanjing Center’s commencement will be held in Nanjing, China on June 16.
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About Johns Hopkins SAIS
For eight decades, students have come to the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) to learn from renowned faculty and distinguished policy practitioners, build their professional networks, and gain hands-on work experience.
The school was founded in 1943 by Paul H. Nitze and Christian A. Herter, statesmen who sought to prepare the next generation of leaders to meet the complex challenges the U.S. and the world would face following World War II. A distinguished faculty of scholars and policy experts developed an innovative curriculum that emphasized international politics, economics, and foreign languages. That program, combined with skills training and experiential learning, helped prepare students to make a difference in government, civil society, and the private sector. In 1955, SAIS established a campus in Bologna, Italy, and in 1986 the school initiated one of the first Western university programs in the People’s Republic of China, in Nanjing.
Today, SAIS carries on this tradition, preparing students for the emerging challenges of the 21st century. Johns Hopkins SAIS alumni number more than 20,000 graduates, a network of professionals working across the globe. From private-sector executives to entrepreneurs, leaders of nongovernmental organizations to ambassadors, and international media correspondents to energy consultants, SAIS alumni are defined by their innovative thinking, analytical approach, and policy expertise. They are leaders in their fields, lifelong students committed to the betterment of the world.
For more information, visit sais.jhu.edu or on Twitter @SAISHopkins
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