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Sportswriter Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie, will deliver the University of Utah's commencement address on May 6.
"He writes about the impact of a college professor on him. It's the best-selling biography of all time. He's a wonderful story teller," U. President Michael Young told trustees Tuesday in making the announcement
"We are very pleased that he will speak to the university's graduates, who will be entering the world with the wisdom and counsel of our extraordinary faculty still reverberating in their minds and hearts," Young added in a statement.
The 1997 Tuesday with Morrie details Albom's reconnection with his sociology professor Morrie Schwartz years after graduating from Brandeis University. Albom met weekly with Schwartz as he faced the end of his life while suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease.
Albom, who lives in Michigan, earned a master's degrees in journalism and business administration from Columbia University in New York City.
In addition to publishing books, including the novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and public speaking, Albom provides regular commentary on ESPN television and radio and is a columnist for the Detroit Free Press. He has been named the best sports columnist in the nation a record 13 times by The Associated Press sports editors.