The 269th Commencement ceremony on May 19 will feature four honorary degree recipients, recognizing their contributions in fields ranging from film and television to physics and history.
Elizabeth Banks
1996 College graduate Elizabeth Banks, who is also the Class of 2025 Commencement speaker, will receive an honorary doctor of arts degree. Banks — an actress, director, and producer known for her starring roles in “The Hunger Games” and “Love & Mercy” — has been nominated for three Emmy Awards for her roles in “30 Rock” and “Modern Family.” Banks has also directed hit films such as “Charlie’s Angels” (2019) and “Cocaine Bear.”
Banks made her directorial debut with “Pitch Perfect 2” in 2015 and co-founded Brownstone Productions with her husband in 2002. She is also a passionate advocate for women’s rights and reproductive freedom. In 1998, Banks earned a master of fine arts from the American Conservatory Theater.
Lonnie Bunch
Lonnie Bunch, the 14th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. He has served in his position at the Smithsonian since 2019 and is the first African American person and first historian to serve in the role. Bunch previously served as the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
In his role as secretary of the Smithsonian, Bunch oversees 21 museums, 21 libraries, and the National Zoo, among other education centers. He received the Legion of Honor in 2021 — France’s highest award.
Barbara Savage
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Penn’s Geraldine R. Segal Professor Emerita of American Social Thought and Africana Studies Barbara Savage will also receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Before retiring from Penn in 2020, Savage was a member of the History Department from 1995-2013. She then served as inaugural chair of the Department of Africana Studies.
While on faculty at Penn, Savage taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in African American history, Black women’s political history, and the history of American social and religious reform movements. She has also authored three books.
Lene Hau
Lene Hau, who currently serves as the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and of Applied Physics at Harvard University, will receive an honorary doctor of sciences degree. Hau was a senior scientist at the Rowland Institute for Science in Cambridge, Mass. prior to her time at Harvard.
She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2001 and has also been elected to the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, among other accolades.
