Rhode Island television

journalist Karen Adams will deliver the commencement address at the Community College of Rhode

Island’s 43rd commencement at 4:30 p.m., Friday, May 16, in

the Vin Cullen Field House on the Knight Campus in Warwick.

Adams is an

award-winning anchor for Channel 12’s Eyewitness News. While she began her

broadcasting career in radio, she advanced quickly into television news,

previously working as a reporter, anchor and news director for television

stations in Missouri, Maryland

and North Carolina.

She will speak to more than 1,200 students who will

receive associate degrees and certificates. More information on commencement is

available at CCRI’s commencement Web site:

www.ccri.edu/web/commencement/2008/info.shtml.

CCRI President Ray Di Pasquale said that the college is

honored to have such an esteemed journalist as its commencement speaker. “In

addition to being at the top of her profession in television journalism, Karen

is a role model for community involvement. She is widely known for her

volunteer efforts supporting numerous causes throughout the state, including

her active involvement in several college fundraising events.”

Her reporting has taken her from coverage of hurricanes

in the South to political reporting in Washington,

D.C. She traveled on a Far East

trade mission with two U.S.

governors, sending reports back to the States from Tokyo

and Kyoto, Japan;

Seoul, South Korea;

and Hong Kong. A trip to Cape Verde

resulted in coverage of the country’s first democratic election. She covered

the economic impact of the movement of factory jobs from New England to Mexico. Many of

her live anchoring stints have included coverage of sporting events, most

notably her trips to the Super Bowl to report on the New England Patriots.

During her years in broadcasting, Adams has won many

awards for her work – including the coveted Emmy Award from the National

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for Individual Achievement in Anchoring

for all of New England. She recently received

another Emmy as part of an overall team effort for coverage of a breaking news

story.

Many Associated Press awards have come her way for

outstanding reporting and feature reporting.

In 2005, she was inducted into the “Silver Circle” of the National Academy of

Television Arts and Sciences. This most prestigious honor goes to broadcasters

who have at least 25 years in television and who have made a significant

contribution to the industry through their work and service.

Adams’s community

involvement is far-reaching and extensive. She is a director on the board of Bank RI; a board trustee

with Community Preparatory

School in Providence; a board

trustee with Meeting Street;

Friends of Lincoln School; and Friends of the Sophia Academy

and is an honorary “Big Sister” with the Big Sisters of Rhode Island.

Her past board member positions have included Trinity

Repertory Company, Providence Animal Rescue League, Diabetes Foundation of

Rhode Island and Eastman House.

She recently co-chaired a $15 million capital campaign

for the new Meeting Street

building in Providence.

Born on the Fourth of July in Nevada,

Mo., she graduated from Southwest Missouri

State University

with a degree in speech and theatre and minor in journalism. She lives in Lincoln with her husband,

a native Rhode Islander.