Author, radio host and McDaniel trustee Diane Rehm was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters May 17 at the 184th Commencement at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria.

For nearly 30 years, Rehm has hosted WAMU 88.5 and National Public Radio’s “The Diane Rehm Show,” distributed nationally and internationally by NPR and NPR Worldwide. Her weekly U.S. audience is estimated at 1.65 million and growing. She’s been a member of the Board of Trustees at McDaniel since 1994.

In awarding the doctorate, the seminary recognized the opportunities Rehm extends to her listeners through her radio show. 

“Rehm’s ministry of asking questions, listening carefully, writing honestly, and respecting the dignity of every human being is a gift to the larger church and the world,” said the Very Rev. Martha J. Horne, dean and president of Virginia Seminary. “In doing all these, (Rehm) is living out her baptismal promises. For this we are grateful to God.”

During a career that spans four decades, Rehm’s topics have ranged from Iraq and the U.S. economy to the art of landscape design and James Joyce's Ulysses, according to her Web site. Her guests have included former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, V.S. Naipaul, Toni Morrison, Annie Leibovitz, George Soros and Ted Koppel.

She was the first radio talk show host to interview a current President in the Oval Office when she talked with Bill Clinton. She’s been honored as a fellow by the Society of Professional Journalists, the highest honor the society bestows on a journalist, and was named by Washington Magazine as “Washingtonian of the Year” and one of Washington’s “100 Most Powerful Women.”

Rehm began her career as a volunteer producer at WAMU in 1973 and, by 1979 was hosting her own show, then called “Kaleidoscope.” The show was renamed “The Diane Rehm Show” in 1984. She is also the author of two books – her memoir “Finding My Voice” and “Toward Commitment: A Dialogue with Marriage,” which she co-authored with her husband, John.

Virginia Theological Seminary, largest of 11 seminaries of the Episcopal Church, confers honorary degrees in recognition of service, leadership, missions, academia, and ecumenical, social, diocesan and national church ministries.