Christiane Amanpour will speak at this year’s Commencement ceremony in June, Northwestern administrators said Wednesday.

“She is an incredibly distinguished journalist and reporter,” said University spokesman Al Cubbage. “She’s had a remarkable career and really is someone who hopefully our students would respect and enjoy hearing.”

Amanpour, CNN’s chief international correspondent, currently hosts the interview show “Amanpour.” Her first major international coverage was from the Persian Gulf War, after which she became famous for her reports on wars, disasters and genocide.

Amanpour will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at Commencement, according to a University statement.

A committee including University President Morton O. Schapiro decided on Amanpour as a top choice for Commencement speaker during Fall Quarter, said Jake Julia, associate vice provost for academic initiatives.

“We try to get someone who really fits with the University’s overall mission and goals,” Julia said.

He said the selection was based on a desire to emphasize NU’s global outlook.

“Certainly given her focus on international issues, her strong international focus and Northwestern’s international focus, we just think it’s really great timing,” Julia said. “Last year’s speaker (Wynton Marsalis) was fantastic. Given Northwestern’s focus on the arts, we think he was wonderful. This year we think this is a great speaker to focus on Northwestern’s international focus.”[email protected]