Author Richard Ben Cramer to Speak at Convocation

Chestertown, MD, February 16, 2001 — Washington College will honor Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Ben Cramer at the annual George Washington's Birthday Convocation on Saturday, February 17, 2001 at 2:00 p.m. in the College's Gibson Performing Arts Center, Tawes Theatre. Cramer will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters from the College.

Author of the recent best-selling biography Joe Dimaggio: The Hero's Life (Simon & Schuster, 2000), Cramer is a dogged journalist whose writing is as incisive as it is empathetic. Born in Rochester, NY, he studied journalism at Johns Hopkins and Columbia University before taking his first job with the (Baltimore) Sun in 1971. In 1976, Cramer went to work for The Philadelphia Inquirer, becoming an overseas correspondent and earning the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Middle East and Arab-Israeli conflict. Since 1984, Cramer has worked as a freelance writer and researcher probing America's cultural icons and political life. His 1992 bestseller, What It Takes: The Way to the White House, has been hailed by critics as the best book ever written on American politics.

The George Washington's Birthday Convocation is held annually in February to honor Washington College's founding patron. This year's event will open with an invocation and benediction by Dr. Gary Schiff, an avocational Hebrew cantor and lecturer in the College's Department of Philosophy and Religion. The ceremony also will honor students inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa national honor society. A reception and book signing will be held in the Tawes Gallery immediately following the Convocation. The event is free and open to the public. For further information call 410-778-7849.