Alan Chartock of WAMC to Receive Honorary Degree at Westfield State College Commencement

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Alan Chartock

ALBANY, NY (05/20/2010)(readMedia)-- Alan S. Chartock, president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio, will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the 171st Westfield State College Commencement at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 22, on the campus green.

Public radio listeners in parts of seven states, including Eastern New York and Western Massachusetts, are familiar with Chartock's political and social commentaries. The Albany-based WAMC also produces programs hosted by Chartock for national distribution, such as The Best of our Knowledge, The Media Project and The Capital Connection.

"Alan Chartock is a broadcast journalist well known to thousands of listeners, but also one of the region's most important educators," said Evan S. Dobelle, president of Westfield State. "It was his perseverance that built WAMC and enriched the Northeast with news and information hard to find in any other medium."

Chartock's radio work has been honored by the Community Radio Program Awards with a "Golden Reel Award." He also received the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Communicator Award, as well as recognition from the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association, among others.

He has been honored by numerous community not-for-profit organizations for his contributions to the quality of life in the northeast.

Chartock is professor emeritus in the Department of Communication at the State University of New York, University at Albany (SUNY Albany) and executive publisher and project director of The Legislative Gazette, the newspaper of state government. Under his leadership, The Gazette has helped to train hundreds of prospective journalists.

He has won numerous awards at SUNY including the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and The SUNY Council for University Affairs and Development Award for Educational Achievement. He was one of the first recipients of the SUNY Award for Excellence and was chosen to receive the 2006 Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Teacher from the SUNY New Paltz Alumni Association.

Chartock also has a syndicated political column that can be read throughout New York and second column, I Publius, which is published Saturdays in The Berkshire Eagle. He regularly shares his thoughts on issues of the day as a blogger. He is also the author of Me and Mario Cuomo: Conversations in Candor, published by Barricade Books.

During his rare time off from broadcasting, Chartock also plays the banjo for the popular folk group, The Berkshire Ramblers.

Chartock is married to Roselle Kline Chartock, a professor of education who has edited a widely acclaimed book on the Holocaust. The Chartocks live in Great Barrington and have two grown children, Jonas and Sarah.

Other honorary degree recipients will be Commencement speaker Byron Pitts, chief national correspondent for The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric; Roxanne Spillett, president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America; Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray, Hampden County Sheriff Michael J. Ashe Jr. and Robert Alan Johnson, Westfield State alumnus and president and CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts.

About Westfield State College

Founded in 1838 by Horace Mann, Westfield State is an education leader committed to providing every generation of students with a learning experience built on its founding principle as the first co-educational college in America to offer an education without barrier to race, creed or economic status. This spirit of innovative thinking and social responsibility is forged in a curriculum of liberal arts and professional studies that creates a vital community of engaged learners who become confident, capable individuals prepared for leadership and service to society.