PROVIDENCE – Brown University will give honorary doctorates to seven people – including actor John Krasinski and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns – at the university’s 251st commencement on May 26, Brown announced.
The university said the seven recipients have “achieved great distinction in a variety of fields.”
In addition to Krasinski and Burns, those to receive honorary degrees are:
- Sheryl Brissett Chapman, advocate and nonprofit innovator
- Jennifer Anne Richeson, social scientist and thought leader
- David M. Rubenstein, philanthropist and co-founder and co-executive chairman of global private equity investment firm The Carlyle Group
- Paul Sorensen, business leader and philanthropist
- Joan Wernig Sorensen, fundraising consultant and philanthropist
Honorary degrees are awarded by the Board of Fellows of the Brown Corp. and are conferred by the university president – in English and in Latin – during commencement on the College Green.
Recipients receive recognition at the ceremony but do not serve as the commencement speaker; since its earliest days, Brown has reserved that honor for members of the graduating class.
Krasinski, best known for his role on the TV show “The Office” and a 2001 Brown graduate, will deliver the baccalaureate address to the undergraduate Class of 2019 on May 25 in the Meeting House of the First Baptist Church in America.
With the Meeting House reserved for members of the graduating class, the baccalaureate address will be shown on video screens for family and friends on the College Green, in Sayles Hall and in the Salomon Center for Teaching.
