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When the Class of 2025 celebrates the University’s 75th Commencement on Sunday, May 18, Cody Keenan, who served as chief speechwriter for President Barack Obama, will present the keynote address and receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters as a member of the graduating class. ������ will also award honorary degrees to Kasim J. Yarn and Tiziana C. Dearing.

Cody Keenan

Keenan wrote alongside Obama for 14 years, rising from a campaign intern in Chicago to White House chief speechwriter and Obama’s post-presidential collaborator. Together, Keenan and Obama crafted some of the most unforgettable speeches of our time. From a sermon in Selma, Alabama, to Obama’s farewell address, the two redefined the essence of the American creed and charted an inspiring, optimistic course for a new generation’s active citizenship. Their collaborations have been compared to the works of Abraham Lincoln, described as the “‘I Have a Dream’ speech for the 21st century,” and categorized even by prominent Republicans as “speeches every child should read in school.”

Keenan got his start in public service as a young aide to the legendary senator Edward M. Kennedy. He holds a master’s degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University. He has appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “The Today Show,” “Morning Joe”, Showtime’s “The Circus” and is a frequent guest on “Pod Save America” and live television coverage of major presidential addresses.

Today, Keenan is a partner at Fenway, a leading speechwriting firm, and teaches a popular course on political speechwriting to undergraduates at Northwestern University. His first book, “GRACE: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America,” became an instant New York Times bestseller.

Tiziana C. Dearing

Dearing is the host of WBUR’s “Morning Edition.” Prior to helping listeners start the morning with news from around the corner and around the world, she hosted “Radio Boston,” WBUR’s daily local magazine, for five years.

Dearing came to journalism after a career that spanned academia, nonprofit organizations and for-profit management consulting. She taught graduate students at the Boston College School of Social Work and co-directed its program in social innovation and leadership. Dearing ran a start-up foundation focused on breaking generational cycles of poverty in Boston neighborhoods and was the first woman president of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Boston. Earlier in her work life, she ran a research center at the Harvard Kennedy School and worked in management
consulting.

She has been recognized with a number of awards in Boston, including a Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.” ������ will award Dearing an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Kasim J. Yarn

Kasim J. Yarn, retired lieutenant commander, is the director of the State of Rhode Island Office of Veterans Services. The first to hold the position, he was appointed in 2016 after 20 years of faithful service to the nation.

Yarn enlisted in the U.S. Navy from Jackson, Mississippi, the day after graduating from high school. His first duty station was in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, which began his lifelong love affair with New England. A Boston University graduate and a commissioned naval officer, he was deployed in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf.

After his assignments at sea, Yarn became an instructor at the Surface Warfare Officers School at Naval Station Newport. He earned a master’s degree in national strategic studies at the U.S. Naval War College.

Yarn was deployed with the Navy’s Sixth and Fifth Fleets and returned home to R.I. in July 2013 to become a faculty member at the Naval War College. As a member of the Governor’s cabinet, Yarn is a key advisor to Governor Dan McKee and helped lead the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He ensures R.I. veterans, active duty, guard and reserve and military families are safe, healthy and able to reach their maximum potential. ������ will award Yarn an honorary Doctor of International Relations degree.