The class of 2012 commencement speaker will be Pulitzer Prize-winner Jon Meacham, and the College of Law speaker will be Judge Stephen Higginson.

Meacham is the executive editor and vice president of Random House publishing. He has been the editor of Newsweek and has contributed to a number of magazines and other publications.

Meacham is the author of “American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House,” for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2009.

“As a winner of a Pulitzer Prize, Mr. Meacham is one of America’s best known journalists and historians, and Loyola has a long tradition of excellence in communications and journalism,” Wildes said.

Meacham said he is honored and excited to speak at commencement.

“I am a great admirer of the Jesuit educational tradition, and, ever since Andrew Jackson defeated the British there, a great admirer of New Orleans,” he said in an email. “I was honored to be asked, and I am very much looking forward to being with the Loyola community.”

Higginson, former College of Law professor, is speaking at the College of Law commencement ceremony. He now serves as a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

“I had seven wonderful years teaching at Loyola, and it is an honor to be able to come back and to give thanks,” he said.

Both commencement ceremonies will be held May 12 at the Mercedes Benz Superdome.

Hannah Iannazzo can be reached at [email protected]

Stephen Higginson (The MAROON)