David Gergen, a political commentator, journalist and former presidential advisor, will speak and receive an honorary degree May 19 at Gettysburg College's 178th Commencement. The 11 a.m. ceremony will take place – rain or shine – on the Beachem Portico on the north side of Pennsylvania Hall.

Gergen is a professor of public service and director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also serves as a senior political analyst for CNN, contributes to Parade Magazine and is currently at work on a book about renewing America's political culture.

Gergen previously served as a White House advisor to four U.S. presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. He wrote about those experiences in his New York Times best-seller, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton. In the 1980s, he also served as chief editor of U.S. News & World Report.

Gergen has been active on many non-profit boards, including for both Yale and Duke universities. Among his current boards are Teach for America, City Year, Schwab Foundation and the Aspen Institute. Gergen also chairs the Advisory Board for the Elon University School of Law. He is a member of the D.C. Bar, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the U.S. executive committee for the Trilateral Commission.

Gergen is an honors graduate of Yale and the Harvard Law School. He has been awarded 22 honorary degrees.

He previously moderated an event in Washington, D.C. commemorating Pres. Eisenhower's farewell address. The event was cosponsored by the College and featured journalists discussing Ike's legacy and remarks by the Eisenhower Institute's Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of the President.

Find out more about Gettysburg College's 2013 Commencement.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Contact: Nikki Rhoads, senior assistant director of communications, 717.337.6803