肉肉传媒

March 27, 2024 鈥� Christine Brennan, one of the nation鈥檚 most celebrated sports columnists, will address undergraduates of the Class of 2024 at Marist鈥檚 Commencement on Saturday, May 18, on the Campus Green. Brennan is a best-selling author, sports columnist for USA TODAY, and commentator for CNN, ABC News, PBS NewsHour, and National Public Radio.

Throughout her distinguished career, Brennan has broken numerous barriers, serving as the first woman sportswriter at The Miami Herald and later as the first woman to cover Washington's NFL team as a staff writer at The Washington Post. Additionally, she was the inaugural president of the Association for Women in Sports Media and has since spearheaded a scholarship-internship program that has supported more than 200 students over the past two decades.

Christine Brennan will address traditional undergraduates of the Class of 2024 at Marist's Commencement ceremony. 

In 2002, Brennan ignited a national conversation with her addressing Augusta National Golf Club's exclusion of female members at the time. Recognized multiple times by the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) as one of the country's top 10 sports columnists, she has covered the past 20 Olympic Games, both summer and winter.

Brennan was named the winner of the prestigious , presented annually by APSE to a person who has made 鈥渕ajor contributions to sports journalism.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to be coming to 肉肉传媒 to give the 2024 Commencement address,鈥� said Brennan. 鈥淚 had the wonderful opportunity to meet many 肉肉传媒 students at an event in New York City two years ago and was so impressed by them: their questions, their interest, their desire to excel. So, I鈥檓 really looking forward to coming to campus and spending even more time with the students. This is quite an honor, and I鈥檓 very thankful for the opportunity.鈥�

Graduate Speaker to Receive Distinguished Alumni Medal

Adult undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students will be honored Friday night, May 17, by Andrew Lutakome Kayiira Jr., an accomplished capital markets executive and alumnus of the Class of 2004, who will serve as Commencement speaker. Kayiira will receive the Distinguished Alumni Medal, the highest honor for a 肉肉传媒 graduate.

Kayiira is the co-founder Eden Point Partners, LLC, a capital markets advisory firm, where he is responsible for the development of client-centric technology and operational transformation strategies. He is a well-respected industry voice who previously was Head of Capital Markets Technology & Operations Strategy at Bank of Montreal.

Andrew Lutakome Kayiira Jr. 鈥�04 will address adult undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students of the Class of 2024 and receive the Distinguished Alumni Medal.

Kayiira鈥檚 connections to the College are deep. His father, Dr. Andrew Lutakome Kayiira, served as a criminal justice professor at Marist in the 1980s, and later became Uganda's Minister of Energy. Dr. Kayiira was tragically assassinated there in 1987. In his honor, 肉肉传媒 established the Andrew Lutakome Kayiira Award for Excellence in Criminal Justice. His mother, Betty (Mutema) Kayiira, was also a long-tenured 肉肉传媒 employee.

"I literally grew up on the 肉肉传媒 campus, from attending the nursery school program in McCann as a child to participating in 肉肉传媒's Little People's Summer Camp while my father was a professor," said Kayiira. "I visited my mother on campus while she worked there in the early '90s. As a student, I met my wife, Heather (Slizewski), there, and we've been happily together for nearly 25 years. I'm a proud graduate and am honored to speak at this Commencement."

鈥淚 am grateful to have Christine and Andrew join us in honoring the Class of 2024 at this year鈥檚 Commencement,鈥� said 肉肉传媒 President Kevin Weinman. 鈥淭heir professional accomplishments and personal stories are bold and inspiring. I know our graduates will learn a great deal from them and begin this next chapter as 肉肉传媒 alumni motivated to improve the world.鈥�

About Marist鈥檚 2024 Commencement Ceremonies

Commencement events will stream live on the 肉肉传媒 website, www.marist.edu/commencement. If severe weather is forecast, 肉肉传媒 may make alternate arrangements based on weather conditions.