Matt Lauer of NBC News to deliver Class Day speech at Harvard

Matt Lauer, co-anchor of “Today” on NBC News, has been selected as the 2009 Senior Class Day speaker. He will address Harvard College graduates and their guests on June 3 at 2 p.m. in Tercentenary Theatre at Harvard Yard.

“Matt Lauer’s work as a journalist places him right in the middle of many pressing issues that affect our graduating class, our society, and the world,” said Lumumba Seegars ’09, First Marshal of the Senior Class Committee. “The stories he has heard, the things he has seen, and the people he has met throughout his career all provide him with an inspiring viewpoint from which to address the graduating seniors. We are incredibly excited to welcome him to Harvard.”

Senior Class Day is a student-focused, informal celebration that takes place the day before Commencement. In addition to a featured speaker selected by the Senior Class Committee, Class Day Exercises include award presentations and undergraduate orations.

Lauer joined NBC News in 1994 and became co-anchor of the acclaimed “Today” show in 1997. The live broadcast, which airs on weekday mornings, covers domestic and international news in a range of fields such as politics, business, and entertainment.

In his role as co-anchor, Lauer has reported on stories that include the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, and the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. He has conducted many first and exclusive interviews with President Barack Obama, former President George W. Bush, then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. John McCain, Sen. Larry Craig, and Yeslan Bin Laden, half-brother of Osama Bin Laden. Lauer is also co-host of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

For the past nine years, Lauer has hosted a special travel series for “Today.” Titled “Where in the World Is Matt Lauer?” the program features a week of live broadcasts from remote locations across the globe. To date Lauer has reported on 44 destinations, including Mount Everest, the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, and Moscow’s Red Square.

Lauer is a graduate of the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University. He began his career reporting at WOWK-TV in Huntington, W.Va., and subsequently hosted news and talk programs in Boston, Philadelphia, and Providence, R.I. Lauer was the host of “9 Broadcast Plaza,” a live interview program in New York, before joining WNBC-TV. He currently lives in New York with his family.