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Commencement Orator
 Mr. Bryant C. Gumbel
TV
Host and Anchor
"The Early
Show," CBS-TV News
Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa
See Also...
• Conferring
of Degree
honoris causa
Bryant C. Gumbel is one of
the most familiar and respected figures in broadcast journalism today.
In 1999, he was named anchor of "The Early Show,” a production
of CBS-TV News. The broadcast debuted on November 1st of that year in
a new, state-of-the-art, broadcast facility on Fifth Avenue in New
York City. Since joining CBS News in March 1997, Gumbel has anchored
the CBS News magazine, Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel (1997-1998),
which received two Peabody Awards, an Overseas Press Award, and two
Emmy Awards. He also anchored the primetime special, "CBS
News/Time 100: 20 Who Changed Our Lives."
Mr. Gumbel is enjoying his sixth year as host of the Home Box Office
(HBO) series, “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” which debuted in
April 1995, and to date, has earned seven Emmy Awards. He had the high
honor of hosting the 49th Emmy Awards and, adding to his talents,
formed Dunbar Productions, a syndication and production company, in
partnership with the syndication arm of CBS. Dunbar is credited for
such progressive productions as "The Reading Club," a
roundtable literary talk show series hosted by Renee Pouissaint, which
is co-produced with Howard University’s television station, WHUT-TV.
Prior to joining CBS News, Mr. Gumbel worked for NBC for nearly 25
years, where he served in many noteworthy capacities. He anchored
NBC-TV's "Today" for 15 years (1982-1997); hosted NBC's
primetime coverage of the 1988 Olympic Summer Games in Seoul, Korea;
served as contributing anchor for the primetime news magazine,
"Dateline NBC," and covered the 1992 presidential
election.
Mr. Gumbel has compiled a remarkably diverse array of credits. He has
interviewed superpower leaders and Super Bowl heroes and has covered
foreign wars, elections, international summits and presidential
inaugurations. He has reported from all corners of the globe,
including Europe, China, Australia, Russia, Cuba, sub-Saharan Africa,
South America, and the Middle East. He covered the outbreak of the
Persian Gulf War from Saudi Arabia, the reopening of arms negotiations
from Geneva, and the 10th anniversary of the fall of Saigon from Ho
Chi Minh City. Gumbel has earned an Edward R. Murrow Award from the
Overseas Press Club, an Edward Weintal Prize from Georgetown
University for diplomatic reporting, and a George Foster Peabody Award
for his work in Vietnam.
In addition, he has received four Emmy Awards, the Martin Luther King
Award from the Congress of Racial Equality, three NAACP Image Awards,
and the Frederick D. Patterson Award, the United Negro College Fund's
highest honor.
Mr. Gumbel’s work in orchestrating and anchoring the Africa
broadcasts, earned him the International Journalism Award from
TransAfrica, the Africa's Future Award from the U.S. Committee for
UNICEF, and the leadership award from the African-American Institute.
Bryant Gumbel was born September 29, 1948, in New Orleans, and was raised in Chicago. He graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, with a liberal arts degree. He has a son, Bradley Christopher, and a daughter, Jillian Beth. He lives in New York.
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