NBC “Today” show co-host Katie Couric has cheerfully wished American viewers a good morning day after day for the past 15 years. However, it’s no secret that Couric will be leaving that show in September for an anchoring spot and managing editor position on the equally iconic CBS Evening News, becoming the first female solo anchor of a major evening network newscast in the United States. And now it seems everyone is asking: Can she hack it?

Yes, Couric has garnered more attention for her bubbly personality – as well as for her wardrobe, hair and makeup – than her hard-hitting interviewing skills. Yes, she is known to crack a joke or two with her co-host, Matt Lauer, and with her interviewees. And yes, she’s made cameo appearances in 2002’s “Austin Powers in Goldmember” and the NBC sitcom “Will & Grace.”

But here’s the kicker: Despite her fame for being a perky morning gal, Couric is also a well-respected, seasoned broadcast journalist. Her impressive resume proves that this woman is definitely fit for nighttime news.

An honors graduate from the University of Virginia, Couric started as a desk assistant for ABC News in Washington D.C. In 1980 she joined CNN as an assignment editor, then moved to Atlanta to become an associate producer for the network. She later became the producer of a two-hour news show and eventually graduated to a political correspondent.

She started at NBC as a general-assignment reporter on WTVJ in Miami and then moved to WRC-TV in Washington D.C., where she received an Emmy and an Associated Press Award for her work.

A year before joining the “Today” show as the show’s first national correspondent, she worked as a deputy Pentagon correspondent for NBC. Couric has become the longest serving “Today Show” co-host in the program’s history.

One of her most powerful “Today” moments came in March 2000, when she underwent a colonoscopy on-air. In 1998 her husband, Jay Monahan, died of colon cancer, and Couric is today considered the spokeswoman for colon cancer awareness.

Though she has interviewed celebrities ranging from Brad Pitt to Robin Williams, Couric has also interviewed many political and newsworthy figures, including the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, John and Patsy Ramsey, Trisha Meili (“The Central Park Jogger”), and John F. Kennedy Jr.

Couric has also co-anchored groundbreaking events, such as the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, has worked on a number of news specials and has filled in for Tom Brokaw on “NBC Nightly News.”

Six Emmys. Two Gracie Allen Awards. A National Headliner Award. The Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi award. An Associated Press Award. A Matrix Award. The Julius B. Richmond Award by the Harvard School of Public Heath. UNICEF’s Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award. A George Foster Peabody award. Couric has earned honor after honor during her broadcasting career.

So, to all those Couric nay-sayers out there, how much more experience does the woman need? Her laundry list of accomplishments not only proves that she is qualified, but that she will likely bring a fresh spin to liven up not only CBS Evening News, but the nightly news template in general.

No evidence shows that viewers receive their news more accurately or effectively from a graying male anchor. Let’s put a little faith in America’s audience and assume they can respond to a news program despite differences in gender.

But sadly, we can’t make any assumptions just yet. After all, a reporter who has served as a deputy Pentagon Correspondent and has handled interviews with every president since George Bush Sr. may not have the ability to take nighttime news seriously. Can she hack it? We think so.