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Quinta Brunson and Mayor Parker are Philly-area commencement speakers. Here’s who else will grace graduation stages this season.

The ceremonies begin Friday and run through mid-June at four-year colleges in the region.

Quinta Brunson, Emmy winner of the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for "Abbott Elementary." She will be speaking at Temple's commencement May 8.
Quinta Brunson, Emmy winner of the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for "Abbott Elementary." She will be speaking at Temple's commencement May 8.Read moreAshley Landis / AP

Commencement season is underway in the Philadelphia region, with prominent actors, artists, athletes, academics and politicians among those who will be sharing their words of wisdom with graduates.

The star power includes Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson and actress Sigourney Weaver, and politicians Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Pa. State Rep. Joanna McClinton. There will be clergy, media personalities, college presidents — even students.

The ceremonies began Friday and run through mid-June. Here’s a look at the lineup for undergraduate commencements at four-year colleges in our region.

May 3

Penn State Abington: Jacklin Rhoads, director of public affairs and marketing for Gov. Josh Shapiro, and a 2008 alumna of the school.

May 3-5

Pennsylvania State University: Each of its schools will have its own speaker, among them former professional soccer player Ali Krieger, retired U.S. Air Force Col. Jennifer Hesterman, and Khalid N. Mumin, the Pennsylvania Secretary of Education.

May 4

Eastern University: Tony Sundermeier, a 1997 graduate and senior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, a 2,000-member congregation.

Rowan University: Financial adviser Ric Edelman, who hosted a radio show on personal finance for 30 years and now hosts the podcast, The Truth About Your Future with Ric Edelman. Barron’s has ranked him several times as the top independent financial adviser in the nation. He and his wife, Jean, are founders of the Boston-based Edelman Financial Engines, the largest independent financial-planning firm in the country.

May 5

Lincoln University: Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization based in Alabama that provides legal representation to prisoners wrongly convicted or sentenced or abused.

May 8

Temple University: Quinta Brunson, the Philadelphia native and star and creator of the hit show Abbott Elementary. She won the Emmy for lead actress in a comedy series in January, becoming the second Black woman to get that award.

May 9

Thomas Jefferson University: ABC News Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman.

West Chester University: Until May 12, individual schools will hold separate commencements with student speakers, who are: Shannon Conroy, Chloe Basso, Tyanna Alexander, Nicholas Burbo, Madeline Mulcahey, Calyx Castel, Kara Peterschmidt, Jessica Buchser, Madeleine Drennan, Marcus Remillard, Kate Amtmann, Reilly Hageman.

May 10

Stockton University: Dave Sholler, a 2006 alumnus and chief communications officer for the Philadelphia 76ers and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

May 11

Chestnut Hill College: State Rep. Tarik Khan, a registered nurse for nearly two decades, including while representing the 194th District. His current research focuses on improving access to health care for marginalized communities.

Delaware Valley University: Jennifer Bloom, principal of the Lower Elementary School in the New Hope-Solebury School District and a 2008 alumna; student Soleil Sklencar, graduating with a bachelor’s in environmental science; and Julian White, a student-athlete who has served as two-time captain of the school’s football team.

Franklin & Marshall College: Jason Cone, a 1999 graduate who is chief public policy officer at the Robin Hood Foundation, a nonprofit that addresses poverty in New York City.

La Salle University: Peter J. Dougherty, a 1971 graduate, director of the American Philosophical Society Press, and former director of the Princeton University Press.

Moore College of Art & Design: Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who is the first woman to serve in the role.

Ursinus College: The Rev. Dr. Lorina Marshall-Blake, president of the Independence Blue Cross Foundation.

May 12

Bucknell University: Nadia Sasso, a 2011 graduate and creative producer and digital storyteller whose work has been recognized by former President Barack Obama and former network news anchor Katie Couric.

Rutgers University, New Brunswick: Freeman Hrabowski III, a mathematician, civil rights advocate and president emeritus at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he is credited with increasing student diversity during his time there.

May 14

Rutgers-Camden: Brian Bridges, New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education.

Widener University: Widener President Stacey Robertson, a distinguished author on the subject of women abolitionists and equality. With no universitywide commencement, Robinson will speak to individual schools at commencements scheduled for May 15 and 16 as well.

May 16

Manor College: Gregory E. Deavens, the CEO and president of Independence Blue Cross.

University of the Arts: Thomas Collins, Neubauer Family Foundation executive director and president of the Barnes Foundation; and Jeffrey Page, director, choreographer and performer and 2002 alumnus.

May 16-20

St. Joseph’s University: Commencement ceremonies will be separated by school and/or degree level over a span of three days. There will only be student speakers.

May 17

Arcadia University: Keith Jones, NBC10 morning anchor, and Iris Barbee Bonner, a 2007 alumna and Philadelphia-based fashion designer.

Villanova University: Philadelphia’s Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, the first Latino chosen to lead the archdiocese and the third to be named a U.S. archbishop.

May 18

Bryn Mawr College: Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change, a Chicago-based nonprofit that matches donors with projects aimed at solving big problems.

Gwynedd Mercy University: Karen Christiansen, who got her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the school in 1992. She is president of ACTS Retirement Services Inc., based in Fort Washington.

Haverford College: Alumnus Jon Kabat-Zinn, internationally renowned guru of “mindfulness-based stress reduction,” and. Ala Stanford, pediatric surgeon and founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium and the Dr. Ala Stanford Center for Health Equity.

Holy Family University: Sarita E. Brown, cofounder and president of the Washington, D.C.,-based Excelencia in Education, which focuses on Latino student success in higher education, and Donald Guy Generals, president of Community College of Philadelphia.

Neumann University: In lieu of a graduation speaker, Chris Domes, president of the university, will speak about Ed Snider’s philanthropic and business contributions in awarding a posthumous honorary degree to the founder of the Philadelphia Flyers and former chairman of Comcast-Spectacor.

Rosemont College: Joanna McClinton, speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

May 19

Cabrini University: Kylie McDevitt Kelce, a 2017 graduate and wife of former Philadelphia Eagle Jason Kelce, will deliver the school’s final commencement address, as the university is closing in June. She was a starter on the field hockey team and helped the university win the conference title two years in a row.

Dickinson College: Michael Smerconish, CNN and SiriusXM host, and former Inquirer and Daily News columnist, was originally scheduled to speak, but the college revoked its invitation Monday.

Immaculata University: Bob Kelly, traffic anchor and feature reporter for Fox 29

Lafayette College: Amy Herman, a 1988 alumna and founder and president of New York-based The Art of Perception Inc., which conducts professional development courses to leaders around the world, including with NATO and Doctors Without Borders.

Monmouth College: Actor Sigourney Weaver, who is perhaps best known for her starring roles in the films Alien and Gorillas in the Mist, and her writer/director husband Jim Simpson will address graduates on the theme of “creative partnership.” They have been married for about 40 years.

Muhlenberg College: Julieanna L. Richardson, founder and president of The HistoryMakers, a national nonprofit focused on telling the previously untold stories of both well-known and unknown African Americans.

Lehigh University: Scott Willoughby, a 1989 alumnus and space expert. He is senior vice president of performance excellence at Northrop Grumman’s space systems sector and former vice president program manager for the James Webb Telescope program.

May 20

University of Pennsylvania: Siddhartha Mukherjee, an oncologist, researcher and author who won the Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction in 2011 for his book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer.

May 25

University of Delaware: NFL quarterback and Superbowl MVP Joe Flacco. A Delaware graduate, Flacco has played with the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cleveland Browns. In March, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts.

May 26

Swarthmore College: Joseph Altuzarra, a 2005 alumnus and luxury women’s ready-to-wear clothing designer; Louis Massiah, MacArthur-winning filmmaker and founder of Scribe Video Center in Philadelphia; and Lulu Miller, best-selling author, Peabody-winning NPR science reporter, and 2005 graduate.

May 28

Princeton University: President Christopher Eisgruber. (The president traditionally is the commencement speaker.)

June 14

Drexel University: Not yet announced.