VALPARAISO | Bill Kurtis, the award-winning television producer and news anchor who has spent a career speaking to Chicago and the nation, will speak at Valparaiso University's commencement ceremonies.

Kurtis, who anchored at WBBM-TV in Chicago before joining the CBS network news team on "CBS Morning News," will address the approximately 750 graduates and their guests in ceremonies on May 20.

Currently a producer for the A&E Network and The History Channel, Kurtis has earned more than 20 Emmys for his broadcast work. He received the Illinois Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame Award in 1998. He is also the author of "The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice," which explores issues of capital punishment in America.

Also at the ceremonies, a professor of biomolecular sciences at Indiana University who discovered a treatment for diabetes, will receive an honorary degree.

Richard DiMarchi, a former vice president at Eli Lilly & Co., is credited with the discovery and development of Humalog, a popular laboratory-produced insulin, and the commercial development of similar products such as Humulin that are used in treating diabetes.

A committee of senior class members, administrators and faculty worked to identify and invite Kurtis as speaker.

Commencement speakers are selected for their strength in public speaking and for a body of work reflective of education and learning, Reggie Syrcle, director of university relations, said. Name recognition also plays a role in the selection, he said.

The commencement ceremonies will be at 1:30 p.m. in the Athletics-Recreation Center. They will be preceded by baccalaureate services at 10 a.m. in the Chapel of the Resurrection.