Zachary Quinto & Matt Bomer to Present Educator Honor at 2014 Tony Awards

Two Carnegie Mellon University alumni - Zachary Quinto of "Star Trek" and Broadway's "The Glass Menagerie" and Matt Bomer of "The Normal Heart" and "White Collar" -- will debut an exclusive educator honor at this year's Tony Awards on Sunday, June 8 on CBS.

On stage at Radio City Music Hall during the live broadcast, Quinto and Bomer will introduce the creation of the "Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre Education presented by Carnegie Mellon University," which is the first, national recognition program to honor kindergarten through high-school (K-12) theatre educators. This follows the university's announcement in April that it will collaborate with the Tony Awards as its first, exclusive higher education partner. Nominations for theatre educators will be accepted online this fall and the first recipient will be honored on stage at the 2015 Tony Awards.

CMU's School of Drama is the oldest drama degree-granting program in the United States and celebrates its centennial in 2014. In the past century, CMU has produced hundreds of Tony nominees and 31 Tony winners-eight winners in 2013 alone.

This year, six CMU alumni have been nominated for a Tony, including:

· Paula Wagner as a producer for Best Play for "Mothers and Sons;"

· Jamie deRoy (A '67) as a producer for Best Musical for "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder;"

· Cherry Jones (A '78) for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for "The Glass Menagerie;"

· Sutton Foster for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for "Violet;"

· Peter Hylenski (A '97) for Best Sound Design of a Musical for "After Midnight;"

· Leigh Silverman (A '96) for Best Direction of a Musical for "Violet."

In addition, Wagner and fellow CMU alum Billy Porter (A '91), a 2013 Tony Award winner, will join CMU's College of Fine Arts Dean Dan Martin for an on-stage presentation celebrating arts and theatre education, and its vital role in developing the next great generation of actors, directors, producers and all theatre professionals.

Last year, Porter and fellow CMU alumni Patina Miller (A '06), Judith Light (A '70), Ann Roth (A '53), Jules Fisher (A '60), Peggy Eisenhauer (A '83), Martin Platt (A '71) and Jamie DeRoy (A '67) took home Tony Awards.

The 2014 Tony Awards, hosted by Hugh Jackman, will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, June 8, on CBS. The 68th annual Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.