WASHINGTON — A spectrum of emerging professionals in an array of fields will be on full display during Howard University’s 157th Commencement Saturday, May 10, 2025, which will feature graduates based on approximately 3,200 applications for graduation, the largest number in the university’s history.  Peabody, Emmy, and Grammy award winning actor LeVar Burton will deliver the keynote address. The processional of graduates will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the ceremony will start at 10 a.m. The event is ticketed. It will be livestreamed on WHUT, WHUR, and at www.howard.edu beginning at 9 a.m. 

WHAT: Howard University’s 157th Commencement Convocation 
WHEN: Saturday, May 10, 2025 
Processional of Graduates - 8:30 a.m. 
Ceremony Begins - 10 a.m. 
WHERE: Howard University Yard, 500 Howard Pl NW, Washington, D.C. 20059   

Media who wish to cover commencement must RSVP here by Thursday, May 8. and arrive on the day of the ceremony no later than 7:30 a.m. Additional details will be shared after RSVPs are received.  

The 157th Commencement Convocation will also be live streamed on Howard University’s YouTube channel and air live on Howard University’s radio station WHUR 96.3 FM and WHUT-TV, Howard University’s public broadcast channel. The ceremony will be re-broadcast at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 11.   

Key facts about the Class of 2025 and the 157th Commencement ceremony include: 

Applications for graduation (as of April 30, 2025): 3,240 

• Average retention from third year to fourth year has increased by an average of 4% over the past three years.
• The youngest graduates, all 19 years of age, are Morayooluwa Adeyemi, Kamaria James, Ja’Shaylee Minor, Joyce Sob, Andria Thomas, and Monasia Thompson. 
• The youngest student to receive a doctorate will be Oreofeoluwa Oladapo, who will receive a medical doctorate at age 22.
• The oldest graduate will be Cheryl Hawkins, who will receive her Ph.D. in History at age 72.
• 44 veterans will be among the graduates.
• 479 students, or 15% of the class, are first-generation college students. 
• Graduates hail from 29 nations and 44 states.  

Honorary Degree Recipients: 

• LeVar Burton (Doctor of Humane Letters) — Peabody, Grammy, and NAACP and 15-time Emmy Award-Winning actor, producer, and director and star of “Roots,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and “Reading Rainbow.”
• The Honorable Barbara Lee (Doctor of Laws) — mayor-elect of Oakland, California; former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
• Natasha Trethewey (Doctor of Letters) — former United States Poet Laureate, the nation’s official poet and Pulitzer Prize-winner for her 2006 collection “Native Guard,” which reflects upon the racial legacy of the Deep South.
• The Honorable Lilian Seenoi Barr (Doctor of Laws) — mayor of Derry City and Strabane in Northern Ireland, the first Black mayor in that country; gender rights advocate and founder of the Northwest Migrants Forum.
• Emery Neal Brown (Doctor of Science), professor of medical engineering, health sciences and technology, and computational neuroscience at MIT; professor of anesthesia at Howard Medical School; expert in brain functions. 

For more information, including full honoree bios, graduate profiles, parking, ticketing, seating, and logistics information, please visit howard.edu. 

### 

About Howard University   

Howard University, established in 1867, is a leading private research university based in Washington, D.C. Howard’s 14 schools and colleges offer 140 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs and lead the nation in awarding doctoral degrees to African American students. The top-ranked historically Black college or university according to Forbes, Howard is the only HBCU ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Top 100 National Universities and the only HBCU classified as an R1 research institution, indicating the highest level of research spending and doctoral production. Renowned for its esteemed faculty, high achieving students, and commitment to excellence, leadership, truth and service, Howard produces distinguished alumni across all sectors, including the first Black U.S. Supreme Court justice and the first woman U.S. vice president; Schwarzman, Marshall, Rhodes, and Truman Scholars; prestigious fellows; and over 165 Fulbright recipients. Learn more at www.howard.edu.