Comedian and commencement speaker Stephen Colbert will receive an honorary degree at commencement on Friday, June 17, according to a university press release. The Communication ’86 graduate studied acting before moving on to a career at The Second City and later starring in his own Emmy award-winning TV show, “The Colbert Report.”
Northwestern will hand out three other honorary degrees this year, Northwestern’s 153rd commencement, to Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Barbara Liskov, singer Jessye Norman and National University of Ireland, Galway professor William Schabas.
“This group is just particularly exciting in terms of the breadth of their accomplishments and it’s a real honor for us to be able to give them honorary degrees,” said Jake Julia, associate provost. “It’s a really fun part of the commencement day festivities.”