Hart advisor to speak at College graduation

William Shore is now an anti-hunger activist. Former Social Security head Shirley Chater will address Nursing. While the University awaits confirmation of its May 19 Commencement speaker, two schools have already booked speakers for their individual graduation ceremonies May 18. William Shore, an anti-hunger activist and advisor to former Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart, will address the College class of 1997 at Franklin Field. And former Social Security Commissioner Shirley Chater will speak to the Nursing School at the University Museum's Harrison Auditorium. Wharton School officials plan to announce their graduation speaker later this week. The School of Engineering and Applied Science does not traditionally have a speaker at its ceremony, which will take place in the Palestra this year. The College of General Studies did not respond to repeated phone calls for this report. Shore, a 1977 College graduate, founded the anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength and was an advisor to both Hart and U.S. Sen. Robert Kerry (D-Neb.) for over a decade. College Dean Robert Rescorla praised the speaker. "Many times the [graduation] has speakers who contributed to the College," he said. "We thought it'd be nice to have someone from our College who contributed to the world." Shore describes his transition from legislative politics to activism in his 1995 book, Revolution of the Heart. "There are two times in my life I remember crying uncontrollably into unconsciousness," he writes. "One was three days after my mother died suddenly and too young? The other was the afternoon my 10 years with Senator Hart came to an end." Shore was one of the few Hart advisors who remained loyal to the former presidential candidate after his fall from grace. "I decided, I don't care what this guy did, I'm going to be his friend," Shore told The Washington Post in 1993. One of the largest anti-hunger organizations in the country, SOS raises money through individual contributions and celebrity appearances. It donates this money to soup kitchens and other community-based groups. Since its founding in 1984, SOS has raised and donated more than $26 million. Chater, a Nursing graduate, last spoke on campus in April 1996, when she discussed the future of social security with students and faculty. She endured harsh criticism during her tenure at the Social Security Commission from 1993-97. Senate Aging Committee Chairman Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) attacked her in a hearing last year, accusing her of telling "[panel members] nothing, absolutely nothing' about what actions should be taken to stave off bankruptcy," the National Journal reported. And last year the Senate Finance Committee refused to act on Chater's nomination for an extended term. Chater -- now a temporary lecturer at the University of California -- thinks reforming Social Security too quickly will lead to a half-baked solution. "The myth that disturbs me the most is that Social Security is in a crisis," she told The Dallas Morning News last month. "That troubles me greatly because as I talk to older Americans? these people worry that next month's check will stop.

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