WALTHAM, Mass. — Jill Abramson, the recently ousted executive editor of The New York Times, has backed out of attending Brandeis (BRAN'-dys) University's commencement.
The Justice student newspaper reports that Abramson told the university's president she won't be present Sunday to get an honorary degree she had been scheduled to receive.
A Brandeis spokesman confirms that Abramson informed the Boston-area university that it was "not my year to be there."
Abramson, the first woman to serve as executive editor at the Times, was fired Wednesday. Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. cited concerns about her newsroom management.
Geoffrey Canada, president and chief executive officer of Harlem Children's Zone, is Brandeis' commencement speaker.
The university earlier withdrew its offer of an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali (ah-YAHN' HUR'-see AH'-ee), a Muslim women's advocate who has made comments critical of Islam.
