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Alumni honored nationally for enriching societyTwo extraordinary University of Rhode Island alumni have found themselves to be in extraordinary company. Christine Amanpour and Robert D. Ballard, have been selected as 2000 Common Wealth Award winners, along with Angelican Archbishop Desmund Tutu, American Novelist E.L. Doctorow, and legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Common Wealth Awards are sponsored by PNC Financial Services Group and honor individuals who represent extraordinary talent and human spirit who have enriched society in exceptional ways. Christine Amanpour, '83, received the Common Wealth Award for Mass Communications. She is CNN's chief international correspondent and is renowned for her reporting from most of the major war zones of the 1990's, including Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Rwanda, Algeria and Zaire. During the Persian Gulf War she was called CNN's "Voice of Baghdad," and she also earned wide acclaim for her impassioned accounts of Bosnia's brutal ethnic cleansing. Amanpour has received many prestigious awards in journalism such as the Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards and the Alfred I. du Pont-Columbia University Silver Baton. She also serves as contribution correspondent to 60 Minutes. Amanpour received an honorary doctor of laws degree from URI in 1995. Robert Ballard, '75, is awarded the Common Wealth Award for Science and Invention. Ballard is an oceanographer, explorer, author and educator. At the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Ballard pioneered deep ocean research with manned and remote-controlled submersible craft. In the last 30 years, he has led or taken part in more than 100 deep-sea expeditions. His famous discoveries include hydrothermal vents, or hot springs, deep in ocean waters, and fabled shipwrecks, such as the luxury liner, Titanic, and the German battleship, Bismarck. Since 1989, Ballard has spearheaded the JASON Foundation for Education, which takes young students on a virtual exploration of scientific sites. Ballard has also authored 15 books, including two bestsellers and has produced more than six Emmy award-winning television documentaries. He has received many honors and awards including National Geographic's Hubbard Medal. Ballard received an honorary doctor of science degree from URI in 1986. By Jennifer Smith |
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