More than 230 graduates were honored at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health commencement ceremony on May 8.  This marked the first class of undergraduates that earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health. Attendees were honored to have Ms. Joy Reid, host of MSNBC’s “The Reid Report,” as its speaker.

“We were extremely delighted to have Ms. Reid as our commencement speaker,” says Dean Paul Brandt-Rauf. “She has been such a highly visible force and consistent voice for social justice issues in Chicago and beyond, including those related to the health of the public.”

[Photo: Ms. Joy Reid]

Ms. Reid has worked in television and radio news since 1998.  In addition to hosting “The Reid Report,” she is the managing editor of theGrio.com and a political columnist for the Miami Herald. She has appeared as a guest on primetime programs including “Hardball”, the “Melissa Harris Perry” show, “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell”, “Now with Alex Wagner”, and “Politics Nation with Al Sharpton”.

“We asked Ms. Reid to serve as this year’s commencement speaker because her commentaries and her journalism are fact and evidence-based and grounded in social justice,” explains Mr. Richard Sewell, associate dean for community and public health practice. Our students care very much about the issues Ms. Reid talks about, including politics, health equity, and marginalized populations, so I know they appreciated what she had to say in her remarks.”

A clip of her commencement address was featured on “The Reid Report” and can be viewed: http://beta.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view?10345403/token/131a2bca-432f-4570-b6df-e333aed59f7e.