Maria Shriver, NBC News Correspondent and contributing anchor to a number of NBC News programs including Dateline, will deliver the principal address and receive an honorary degree at the 152nd commencement exercises of the College of the Holy Cross, scheduled for Friday, May 22.

In addition to Shriver, Holy Cross will award honorary degrees to Robert "Bob" Cousy ’50, and the Rev. Gregory J. Boyle, S.J.

Maria Shriver serves as anchor and correspondent for both NBC and MSNBC, the news, talk, and information cable network from NBC and Microsoft Corp. Shriver also anchors First Person with Maria Shriver, a series of prime-time NBC News specials which has been honored with an Emmy nomination and a first-place Commendation Award from American Women in Radio and Television. Shriver has also co-anchored NBC News’ Sunday Today, NBC Nightly News, NBC News at Sunrise, Today, and Main Street, a news magazine for young people. She has interviewed such personalities as media mogul Ted Turner, former Vice President Dan Quayle, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Shriver has served as podium correspondent for NBC News at the Democratic and Republican Conventions in both 1992 and 1996. During the 1996 campaign, Shriver gained interviews with both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Elizabeth Dole. She was also co-anchor for NBC’s Emmy-winning coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics from Seoul.

Bob Cousy ’50, long known as "Mr. Basketball," was an All-American for four consecutive years at Holy Cross. A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Cousy was chosen by a 1974 AP poll as one of the top five basketball players of all time. For 13 years he was captain of the world championship Boston Celtics and played 13 NBA All-Star Games. A winning coach with both Boston College and the Cincinnati Royals, Cousy also coached the U.S. All-Stars to a six-game win over the Russian Olympic Team.

A TV broadcast analyst for the Boston Celtics, Cousy has co-authored five books; he has made cameo appearances in films such as Blue Chips and Celtics Pride; and he has been elected to both the Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden Halls of Fame. A tireless supporter of the Big Brothers of America Program, he was presented in 1965 with the "Big Brother of the Year" Award by President Lyndon Johnson. Long an advocate of community service, he has established the Bob and Marie Cousy Scholarship Fund at Becker College. Recently, Cousy has been instrumental in building the first basketball court in Soweto, South Africa.

Rev. Gregory J. Boyle, S.J., is director of JOBS FOR A FUTURE, an employment referral center for at-risk youth located in Boyle Heights. Previously, Father Boyle was pastor of Dolores Mission, the poorest church in the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese. His work at Dolores Mission included alternative approaches to addressing gang violence with both education and economic development programs.

Boyle entered the Society of Jesus in 1972. He attended Loyola Marymount University and Gonzaga University where he received his bachelor of arts degree in English. He was ordained to the priesthood in Los Angeles in 1984, and has worked with Christian Base Communities in Cochabamba, Bolivia and served as chaplain at Islas Marias Penal Colony and Folsom Prison.

Maria Shriver