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The Brookline native and Harvard alum will speak to graduates May 28 and receive an honorary degree.
Conan O’Brien attends the premiere for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” at Alice Tully Hall during the 63rd New York Film Festival on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in New York. Andy Kropa / Invision / AP, File
Comedian and television host Conan O’Brien will serve as Harvard University’s commencement speaker this year.
The university announced Thursday that O’Brien will deliver the principal address to graduates on May 28 on campus. He will also receive an honorary degree.
“Conan O’Brien is a singular and outstanding American humorist,” Harvard President Alan M. Garber said in a statement. “His work, deeply rooted in close listening and keen observation, creates joyful connections between and among ideas and people.”
A native of Brookline, O’Brien graduated from Harvard in 1985 with a degree in history and literature. While on campus, he served two terms as president of the Harvard Lampoon, the university’s student-run humor magazine.
O’Brien first rose to prominence as a writer for “Saturday Night Live” and later for “The Simpsons.” After receiving an Emmy Award for his writing, O’Brien became the host of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” in 1993, launching a late-night television career that would span nearly three decades.
Beyond late-night television, O’Brien has expanded his audience through travel programs, such as “Conan Without Borders” and “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” which has featured visits to countries including Armenia, Haiti, South Korea, and Ireland.
His podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” has also become one of the most popular celebrity interview podcasts.
In 2025, O’Brien received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, one of the nation’s highest honors in comedy.
O’Brien has remained closely connected to Harvard throughout his career. He previously spoke at the university’s 2000 Class Day celebration and appeared during its virtual 2020 graduation ceremony, encouraging students to explore broadly and push through self-doubt — challenges he said he experienced as a student and later in his career.
“I look forward to sharing the stage with him in Tercentenary Theatre later this year,” Garber said. “Harvard is tremendously fortunate to call him one of our own.”
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