Pharrell to deliver HBCU commencement speech

Pharrell to deliver HBCU commencement speech
Pharrell Williams (Photo credit: Shutterstock.com / DFree)

Dr. Dre won’t be the only super producer wearing the doctor moniker as Pharrell Williams will soon be fitted with the title. Williams will be awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree by Norfolk State University in Virginia. Williams, who grew up in neighboring Virginia Beach less than 15 minutes from the HBCU, will also deliver the keynote commencement address for NSU’s December 2021 graduating class.


The in-person commencement ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, at Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall and will be live-streamed on the University’s website at www.nsu.edu. Nearly 400 degrees will be conferred to candidates who have completed associate, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees.


Williams has donated to the school in the past and hosted a business economic forum in October at Norfolk State University. The conference, titled, “The Elephant in the Room” was a business economic panel discussion aimed at helping move the region’s economic development forward and included corporations from around the world interested in doing business in the area.

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