Academic rites and ceremonies

Overview

Award-winning journalist and author Soledad O'Brien, distinguished scholar Nell Irvin Painter, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas, and Miami Dade College President Eduardo J. Padron received honorary degrees. Soledad O'Brien gave the undergraduate address. There ceremony was held at the Agganis Arena at Boston University.

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Crazy Rich Asians' and 'Raya and the Last Dragon' screenwriter Adele Lim '96; composer and singer Toshi Reagon; and Emerson Trustee, founder and chairman of Samuels & Association, and film producer Steve Samuels received honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees. Adele Lim '96 gave the undergraduate address. The ceremony was held at the Agganis Arena at Boston University in the morning.

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United States Senator John F. Kerry and journalism ethics scholar Robert McKay Steele received honorary degrees. The commencement address was given by John F. Kerry. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts in the morning.

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Emeritus status was conferred on Kenneth C. '55, M.A., '57, Ph.D., Professor School of Communication and Leonidas A. Nicole, '49, M.A. Professor, Department of Performing Arts School of the Arts. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts.

Overview Donor Shoo Iwasaki announced a new scholarship for Emerson students at the ceremony. Director and film scholar Peter Bogdanovich; WBZ radio news anchor Gary LaPierre; and co-founder of Shakespeare & Company Tina Packer received honorary degrees. There is only partial footage of Tina Packer's honorary degree presentation. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts in the afternoon. Former Emerson College Board of Trustees Chairman and retired president of WCVB S....

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Filmmaker Spike Lee received an honorary degree and gave the commencement address. The ceremony was held at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts in the morning.

Overview The commencement ceremony was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ceremony featured: Welcome by Jeffrey D. Greenhawt, Chair of the Board of Trustees; Teaching Awards presented by Michaele Whelan, PhD, Provost and VP of Academic Affairs; Commencement address given by Stefani Robinson '14, an Emmy-nominated co-showrunner, executive producer, and writer for FX’s 'What We Do in the Shadows'; Presidential Valedictory Address by M. Lee Pelton, PhD, President of Emerson College; and...