Commencement

2003 Undergraduate Commencement Speaker - Jack Williams

Jack Williams anchors WBZ 4 News weekdays at 5:00PM on WBZ-TV 4. A television journalist since 1968, Williams has been recognized by numerous organizations for his reporting skills, commitment to the community and for his work on behalf of his weekly news series "Wednesday's Child," which celebrated its 20th anniversary on the air in 2001.

Each week, "Wednesday's Child" features a special needs child who is in search of a permanent home. Over the years the segment has helped more than 460 special needs children find loving homes. Williams is responsible for raising more than $2,700,000 for the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange, a non-profit agency that matches special needs children with adoptive families. In April 2000, Williams created the Jack Williams Endowment for Wednesday's Child, a 501(C) (3) charity to ensure continuing financial support for special needs adoption.

In December 1997 Williams was honored at the White House by President Bill Clinton and the First Lady with the first Adoption 2002 Excellence Award. Williams and twelve others were singled out for individual achievement for their efforts on behalf of special needs adoption. Williams also received a Presidential Citation from President Ronald Reagan for "Wednesday's Child" in June 1983 in the Rose Garden at the White House.

Among the numerous other organizations that have acknowledged Williams' work include the American Academy of Pediatrics, Friends of the Retarded, the Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Massachusetts Psychological Association, the Boston Catholic Archdiocese, Protestant Social Services Bureau, B'Nai Brith, Jewish Big Brother/Big Sister, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

During his career Williams has received four Emmy Awards; two for individual reporting for the series "Crisis at Birth" and one for the "Wednesday's Child" series. In 2001, he was honored with the Governor's Award from the New England Emmy organization, recognizing his career accomplishments.

In 1996, Williams was chosen to be a Phi Beta Kappa Fellow. The organization, which is limited to 300 members nationally, recognizes those who have shown outstanding achievement in their careers and high cultural and intellectual ideals. In 1999, he was elected to the National Board of Fellows.

In 1984 Williams received the first national media award ever presented by the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps (TASH). In 1987 Boston University Law School gave Williams the N. Neal Pike Prize for service to handicapped persons and, in January 1990, he was presented with the Martin Luther Burstein Volunteer Award.

Williams has received five honorary doctorate degrees from schools throughout New England including Fitchburg State College, Merrimack College, Framingham State College, Worcester State College and Newbury College. He received an honorary associated arts degree from Massasoit Community College.

Williams is one of the original board members of the Genesis Fund, an organization that established the National Birth Defect Center at Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Brighton, Massachusetts. He is also on the advisory board of the Pike Institute of Boston University's Law School, which fights for the right for the handicapped.

Williams' interest in broadcasting began at the age of 13 when he built his own radio station at home in Idaho. Two years later he was hired by Idaho radio station KYTE as an announcer. In 1964 Williams began working full-time as a news reporter.

Prior to joining WBZ-TV 4 in 1975, Williams worked at KIRO-TV in Seattle, Washington and KORK-TV in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was a news anchor and news director.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Oregon, Williams earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism. He received the Harold E. Fellows Memorial Fellowship from the National Association of Broadcasters and was voted a member of the national Kappa Tau Alpha Journalistic society. In 2001 Williams was elected as a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Williams and his wife, Marci, reside in the Greater Boston area.

WBZ-TV 4, recognized by its peers for its extensive coverage of breaking news, weather, politics, sports and entertainment, was named "Best News Station in the Country" in the year 2000, and was ranked "Best in Boston" for the two consecutive years by Columbia University's "Project for Excellence" study in 2000.

WBZ-TV 4 is a member of The Viacom Television Stations Group, a unit of Viacom Inc., one of the world's largest entertainment and media companies, and a leader in the production, promotion and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and music.