Harrison Ford to address ASU's Class of 2026 at spring commencement
Newly graduated students celebrate at the end of the spring 2025 Undergraduate Commencement at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe. Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
This May, graduating students from Arizona State University will head out on their next great adventure after getting some advice from someone who’s traversed through jungles and flown in a galaxy far, far away.
Or at least, he did so on the big screen.
Legendary actor Harrison Ford will speak at the undergraduate commencement ceremony at ASU on May 11 at Mountain America Stadium.
View the full convocation schedule and more graduation details at graduation.asu.edu.
Known for his rugged charm and dry humor, Ford has brought to life some of the most enduring characters in film history, including Han Solo in the “Star Wars” movies. His career has spanned more than six decades and included the hit movies “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Witness,” “Patriot Games,” “Blade Runner,” “The Fugitive” and “Presumed Innocent.”
Most recently, he starred in the TV Western “1923” and the comedy drama “Shrinking.”
On March 1, he was presented with the SAG-AFTRA Lifetime Achievement Award and gave a moving speech. He recalled that during college, he felt isolated and lonely.
“Then I found the company of people putting on plays — storytellers. The people I thought were misfits and geeks turned out to be my people,” he said.
“I found a calling, a life in storytelling, an identity in pretending to be other people. As actors, we get to live many lives, we get to explore ideas that affirm and elevate our shared experience.”
Ford is also a conservation and environmental advocate, and he serves as vice chair of Conservation International.
“I recognize this is an important opportunity to encourage your students to invest in their futures and in nature,” Ford told ASU News. “I had always had a very strong interest in the natural world.
“We need to recognize the interdependence of nature and humanity, and we need to understand our dependence on healthy ecosystems. We’re at a critical stage in the world because we’ve neglected our obligation to nature.”
In September 2025, he attended the launch of the Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures in New York alongside ASU President Michael Crow.
Ford called ASU’s creation of the School of Conservation Futures “fantastic.”
“It’s a significant contribution by the university, and I’m grateful for it,” he said.
“One of America’s great actors and communicators, Harrison Ford has led us all in his explorations around the Earth and the galaxy,” Crow said. “He has helped to teach in his approach to acting with the spirit of the skeptic and the problem-solver.
“In addition to all of this, he has become one of the leading voices for conservation on the planet, helping people from various cultures everywhere to remember that Mother Earth commands our awe and our respect.”
Ford will receive an honorary Doctor of Arts and Humane Letters during the ceremony.
Also receiving an honorary degree at commencement will be businessman Howard Graham Buffett, chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, one of the largest private philanthropic organizations in the world. He will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters and give some remarks.
Buffett said that receiving an honorary degree is the culmination of a long history of engagement and partnership he’s had with ASU.
“It’s especially meaningful because our foundation has owned research farms in Arizona for more than a decade, so I’ve spent a lot of time there over the years,” he said.
The Howard G. Buffett Foundation has partnered with the ASU Foundation for a New American University on many projects, including several with the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
“It’s important for people to understand the world around them and to be aware of the conditions that create human suffering. Awareness is the first fundamental step toward addressing problems,” Buffett said.
“Unfortunately, it’s harder to get people’s attention in today’s media environment, but visual content can often break through. That’s based on my own experience as a photographer. I’ve photographed many of the conditions our foundation works on across the 156 countries I’ve visited. It was a natural area for us to support journalism students pursuing visual journalism opportunities, especially globally.”
Crow said: “Howard Buffett, who was born into a wealthy and successful family, has focused his life energy on helping those in the most need, helping people who suffer around the world and helping the people of Ukraine — not after the war but during the war.
“His dedication to action is an example to us all.”
Buffett, the son of Warren and Susan Thompson Buffett, said his father challenged his children to take risks and work on difficult problems.
“His financial support was huge, but his real gift was encouraging me, my sister and brother to not be afraid to try things that might fail,” Buffett said. “That’s why we decided to focus where the need is greatest and the available resources are most scarce — places and people facing widespread food insecurity or conflict meet the criteria of high-risk, high-need and few available resources.
“The issues are also inextricably linked — where there is hunger, there is often conflict, and conflicts create the conditions for food insecurity or increase food insecurity.”
Gretchen Buhlig, chief executive officer of the ASU Foundation for a New American University, said that Buffett's keen eye for storytelling inspires his work to tackle some of humanity's hardest challenges.
“He is advancing stability, security and economic progress for some of the most vulnerable and conflict-torn populations and geographic regions around the world. We are proud to celebrate his commitment to changing the futures of these individuals and communities,” she said.
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