Loyola Marymount University will welcome Academy Award-winning filmmaker and multiple Grammy Award-winning Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson as the keynote speaker for the 2025 undergraduate commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 17.
Questlove is a visionary creative who elevates dialogue, curiosity, and representation through artistic expression. An Academy Award-winning filmmaker, drummer, DJ, producer, director, culinary entrepreneur, New York Timesbest-selling author, and member of “The Roots,” Questlove is the unmistakable heartbeat of Philadelphia’s most influential hip-hop group. He is also the musical director for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” where his beloved Roots crew serves as the house band.
Brian Greene, a leading theoretical physicist and sought-after communicator of groundbreaking scientific concepts, will speak at the graduate and LMU Loyola Law School commencement on Sunday, May 18.
Brian Greene is a lifelong learner committed to intellectual inquiry, educational access, and academic excellence. Described by The Washington Post as “the single best explainer of abstruse concepts in the world today,” he is the author of four acclaimed books that have collectively sold millions of copies worldwide. His latest best-selling release, “Until the End of Time,” which explores the cosmos and our quest to understand it, was named one of the “100 Notable Books of 2020” by The New York Times.