Having covered the Hampton Roads community for more than 20 years, Dougherty welcomes the Class of 2014 during Fall Convocation on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
By Megan Z. Shearin | September 3, 2010
Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Va. - Kerry Dougherty, columnist for the award-winning The Virginian-Pilot newspaper, will speak on the subject of “Thinking About Community,” at Virginia Wesleyan College’s 2010 Fall Convocation, 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7, in the Convocation Center of the Jane P. Batten Student Center. This event is free and open to the public.
Her address launches the College’s 2010-11 academic year for students and is also the first in a series of presentations serving the Freshman Seminar program, around the question, “What is Community?”
Dougherty, who currently writes a news and opinion column three times a week, covers a wide variety of subjects in the Hampton Roads community, from local events to people and hot topics. Vice President for Academic Affairs and Kenneth R. Perry Dean of the College Dr. Timothy O’Rourke said, “Because her columns explore the many dimensions of the Hampton Roads community in insightful and engaging ways, she is uncommonly well-suited to address the interests of our students and their faculty mentors.”
Born in Trenton, N.J., Dougherty earned her B.A. in political science from Elizabethtown College, a private liberal arts college in Elizabethtown, P.A. While attending college, she was involved with the student newspaper, student senate and the drama department; participated in intramural sports; served as an R.A. (Resident Assistant); and volunteered at the Penn State Milton Hershey Medical Center.
She landed her first job after college at The Washington Post as a “copy boy,” working her way up to a local news reporter and then a sports writer in just six years. In the early 80s, she worked as a freelance writer in Dublin, Ireland, writing for news outlets such as The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Newsweek, and the former Ireland Sunday Tribune. In 1984, she joined The Virginian-Pilot and has held several positions, including court reporter, feature writer, and editorial board member. She has two children in college and enjoys reading, sleeping on the beach and watching college football in her spare time.
For more information, contact Judy Tinsley in the Academic Affairs Office at 757.455.3210 or jtinsley@vwu.edu.
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