Emmy-winner Ginger Kathrens to speak at graduation

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Emmy Award-winning producer and director Ginger S. Kathrens will be the speaker for summer commencement exercises Aug. 4 at Bowling Green State University.

Graduation will be held at 9 a.m. on the lawn in front of University Hall. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremonies will be moved to Anderson Arena in Memorial Hall.

A 1968 graduate of Bowling Green and a winner of the University's Distinguished Alumnus Award, Kathrens has produced and directed feature films, television documentaries, commercials and national public service announcements. She produced the Discovery Channel's “Spirits of the Rainforest,” which earned Emmy awards for Best Cultural Informational Documentary and Best Music.

She started her career in 1969 as a writer for Charles Prout Productions in Orlando, Fla., then worked as a writer/director/editor in 1970-71 for Peter J. Barton Productions in Tallahassee.

The following year, in 1972, she founded Taurus Productions in Colorado Springs, Colo. Among her productions have been 25 segments of PBS's “Wild America” series and shows for the PBS “Nature” series. She has won more than 100 awards for production excellence in national and international competitions over the past 34 years.

Kathrens also has written two books, “Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies” and “Cloud's Legacy: The Wild Stallion Returns,” based on her successful documentaries.

She holds a bachelor's degree in speech from BGSU and a master's degree from Florida State University, where she was continuity director for WFSU-TV and a film instructor.

Approximately 1,300 students will be awarded degrees at BGSU's summer commencement.

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(Posted July 18, 2007)