Commencement 2009
2009 Commencement Speaker:
Eric Westervelt ’91
National Public Radio foreign correspondent Eric Westervelt, Reed College class of 1991, has reported on conflicts and their repercussions across the Middle East region including fighting in Iraq, the Gaza Strip, Afghanistan, the second Lebanon war and the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the West Bank, Gaza and Israel.
Westervelt’s coverage at home and abroad has helped NPR win broadcast journalism’s highest honors, including contributions to a 2002 George Foster Peabody Award to NPR for coverage of the September 11th terrorist attacks in the US and its aftermath; a 2003 Alfred I. DuPont - Columbia University award for NPR’s coverage of 9-11 and the war in Afghanistan as well as duPont-Columbia University top honors again in 2004 and in 2007 for NPR’s coverage of the war in Iraq, among other awards.
Before joining the foreign desk, his work for NPR’s national desk included some of the biggest domestic stories in recent memory including the Columbine High School shootings, the explosion and crash of TWA Flight 800, the Florida presidential recount, among many others. Additionally, he has reported on national trends in law enforcement and crime fighting, including police tactics, use of force, the drug war, racial profiling, and the legal and political battles over firearms in America. He contributed to a 2001 Peabody award for NPR’s series on the most influential American musical works of the 20th century.
He began his career in news as an intern and freelancer reporter at Oregon Public Broadcasting after graduating from Reed in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies. He later served as a news director and reporter at New Hampshire public radio before joining NPR.
He recently wrapped up a multi-year assignment covering Israel and the Palestinian Territories. He takes up his new position as a Berlin-based European Correspondent for NPR this month. His wife Lisa is a singer and performer.
