This year’s commencement for Brown University will provide a little piece of deja vu for John Krasinski. The Newton-raised star, who graduated from the Rhode Island Ivy in 2001, has just been named one of the seven candidates who’ll be receiving honorary doctorates from the school next month.
The institution will bestow the honor on Krasinski on the College Green during its 251st Commencement exercises May 26. But the famous actor, writer and director will be making another appearance on campus during the end-of-the-year festivities, delivering the Baccalaureate address to Brown’s undergraduate Class of 2019 at the Meeting House of the First Baptist Church in America on May 25. Space in the Providence landmark will be reserved for members of the graduating class, but Krasinski’s speech will be projected on screens on Brown’s College Green, in Sayles Hall and in the Salomon Center for Teaching for family and friends to see.
Krasinski is most known for his breakout role on “The Office,” playing the lovable prankster Jim Halpert. In recent years, he’s made a name for himself beyond the confines of the former NBC comedy, with credits including the titular character in the new Amazon Prime Original series “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.” And he wowed the world last year when he made his directorial debut with the supernatural thriller “A Quiet Place,” which also had him starring alongside his wife, Emily Blunt.
In addition to Krasinski, Brown will also be conferring honorary degrees to: Ken Burns, Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker; Sheryl Brissett Chapman, executive director of the National Center for Children and Families; Jennifer Anne Richeson, social scientist and thought leader; David M. Rubenstein, global business leader and patriotic philanthropist; E. Paul Sorensen, retired co-founder and director of ABAQUS Inc.; and Joan Wernig Sorensen, fundraising consultant and philanthropist. These honorary degrees are awarded by the Board of Fellows of the Brown Corporation and are conferred by the university’s president, Christina Paxson.
