In a column on the retirement of Charles Gibson from ABC News, David Hinckley of the New York Daily News cited a speech Gibson gave at the College's commencement in 2007 about journalistic principles.
Gibson’s long tenure with ABC played a major role in his decision to speak at the College’s 213th Commencement. Gibson was covering the House of Representatives for the network in 1986 when he met with Philip R. Beuth, then an executive at Capital Cities/ABC.
“Phil Beuth literally changed my life,” Gibson said. “I hardly knew the man, but he invited me to have a cup of coffee one morning in the ABC cafeteria and out of the blue said, ‘What would you think of being the male host on Good Morning America?’ On the scale of surprises, that was off the charts.”
When Beuth '54, asked his former anchor to speak at Commencement, Gibson reminded him of his own ties to the College. Gibson’s father, Burdett Gibson, graduated in 1923, and his uncle, Charles D. Gibson, was a member of the Class of 1920. Both men were born in Schenectady.
Gibson worked with College officials to create a scholarship in memory of his father, which is given each year to a student in financial need.
In his Commencement remarks, Gibson told the graduating class: “…you have a Union education. It served my father well, and it will do the same for you.”
To read Hinckley's column, click here.