The Class of 2024 will hear from a film and television director, a principal ballet dancer, a 25-time Grammy Award-winning musician, politicians, and other distinguished speakers at their colleges’ and universities’ commencement ceremonies.
University of Maryland, College Park
Speaker: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore
Date: May 20
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will speak at the University of Maryland, College Park’s main commencement ceremony on May 20. Moore made history as Maryland’s first-ever Black governor. (He is the first African American governor in United States history, and the third to be elected to the position.) Before becoming Maryland’s 63rd governor in January 2023, Moore served as CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, a charitable organization that seeks to address poverty and related issues in New York City. Moore is a U.S. Army veteran, Rhodes Scholar, author, and former investment banker.
Towson University
Speaker: Film and television director Mike Flanagan
Date: May 22
After graduating from Towson University as an electronic media and film major in 2002, Mike Flanagan went on to create acclaimed horror films and television series, including “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “Midnight Mass,” “Doctor Sleep,” and “The Haunting of Hill House,” among others. On May 22, he will address members of the Class of 2024 at the commencement ceremony for the university’s College of Fine Arts & Communication. Commencement schedules for TU’s other colleges can be found here.
Peabody Conservatory
Speakers: Musician Stevie Wonder and dancer Misty Copeland
Date: May 22
Singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer Stevie Wonder’s work has spanned genres, from R&B and soul to gospel and funk to pop and jazz and more. He has won 25 Grammy Awards and one Academy Award, and he has been honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Misty Copeland became the first Black woman to be promoted to principal dancer of the American Ballet Theater in 2015. The NAACP awarded its Spingarn Medal, the organization’s highest honor, to Copeland in 2021. In addition to speaking at the Peabody Conservatory’s spring graduation ceremonies on May 22 (Copeland at the morning ceremony and Wonder at the afternoon ceremony), both artists will receive the George Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music and Dance in America. Hopkins will also bestow an honorary doctorate degree from Hopkins to Wonder during the university’s commencement ceremony May 23. Read more about Copeland and Wonder as commencement speakers in this Baltimore Fishbowl article.
Johns Hopkins University
Speaker: Former Republican Presidential Nominee and U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney
Date: May 23
U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) will give remarks at Johns Hopkins University’s commencement ceremony May 23. Romney was the Republican party’s 2012 presidential nominee, running unsuccessfully against then-President Barack Obama. He also previously served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. During his time in the Senate, Romney has been a critic of former President Donald Trump, with Romney twice voting to convict Trump in his impeachment trials. He was among the six Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Read more about Romney as a commencement speaker in this Baltimore Fishbowl article.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Speaker: Mina Cheon, Dean of the Undergraduate Studies at MICA
Date: May 23
Korean-American new media artist Mina Cheon graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2002 with her master’s of fine arts degree in imaging and digital arts. Now, she serves as Dean of the Undergraduate Studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where she is also a professor. Cheon will address the graduating students of UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, School of Social Work, Erickson School of Aging Studies.
Goucher College
Speaker: Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.
Date: May 24
A 2004 graduate of Goucher College, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. will deliver the keynote address during the college’s commencement ceremony on May 24. Olszewski has served as Baltimore County’s executive since December 2018, and last week he became the Democratic nominee for Maryland’s 2nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives (he will face off against Republican nominee Kimberly Klacik in the November general election). Previously, Olszewski worked as a public school teacher and served two terms in the Maryland House of Delegates.
Morgan State University
Speaker: Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, chancellor of the University of Cape Coast Ghana
Date: May 18
Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, chancellor of the University of Cape Coast Ghana and executive chairman of Jonah Capital, is the keynote speaker for Morgan State University’s commencement ceremony. Jonah served as CEO of Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited, during which time the company expanded from a one-mine operation to a multinational excavation and extraction company. Jonah also led Ashanti to became the first operating African corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Loyola University
Speaker: Paul Monteiro, Maryland Secretary of Service and Civic Innovation
Date: May 18
Paul Monteiro, Maryland’s first secretary of service and civic innovation, is the commencement speaker for Loyola University. In his role, Monteiro has overseen Gov. Wes Moore’s efforts to promote service and volunteerism in Maryland, including the state’s Service Year Option for high school graduates. Previously, he served as the national director of AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America.
McDaniel College
Speaker: Freeman A. Hrabowski III, former president of University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
Date: May 18
After leading University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) for 30 years, Freeman A. Hrabowski III retired in 2022. Hrabowski is credited with leading the transformation of UMBC into a center for marginalized and underrepresented students to launch their careers in STEM fields. Hrabowski is the spring 2024 commencement speaker for McDaniel College.
Hood College
Speaker: U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin
Date: May 18
U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin is the commencement speaker for Hood College’s Class of 2024. Cardin, who is retiring at the end of his current term, has served three terms in the U.S. Senate. Previously, he represented Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987-2006. He began his career in politics in 1968 as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, where he would later serve as House Speaker from 1979 to 1986.
Coppin State University
Speaker: Retired Maj. Gen. Dr. Linda L. Singh, founder and CEO of Kaleidoscope Affect LLC
Date: May 17
Coppin State University’s 2024 spring commencement speaker is Dr. Linda L. Singh, founder and CEO of Kaleidoscope Affect LLC, a Bowie-based consulting and advisory company that provides leadership development, management consulting, and strategic advisory services. Singh is a retired Major General from the Maryland National Guard. She was also the Inaugural Leader-In-Residence at Towson University, and was Interim Executive Director and CEO of TEDCO.
