Arianna Huffington, editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Huffington Post, will be the keynote speaker at the Class of 2009’s graduation ceremony on December 16.

Launched in May 2005, the HuffPost has become an influential media web site covering politics, business, technology, entertainment, and the green movement. It is also a platform for thousands of bloggers who weigh in on a wide range of topics.

Huffington, who writes a nationally syndicated political column for Tribune Media Services, is a frequent television commentator, with appearances on such shows as “Charlie Rose,” “Larry King Live,” and “The O’Reilly Factor.” She is the author of 12 books, including Right is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe.

In 2009, Forbes magazine named her to its list of Most Influential Women in Media. She has also appeared on the Time 100, Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

“Arianna is very entrepreneurial, a valuable skill in this brave new world of journalism,” said Dean Stephen B. Shepard.

Huffington will be the CUNY J-School’s third commencement speaker, following award-winning broadcast journalist Bill Moyers in 2008 and Dean Baquet, assistant managing editor and Washington bureau chief of The New York Times, in 2007.

The 2009 commencement will take place at the Times Center in the New York Times building. A reception will follow at the CUNY J-School next door.