Skip to main content
Denison University Home
  • About Denison +
  • Academics +
  • Admission & Aid +
  • Campus Life +
  • News & Events +
  • Arts
  • Athletics & Recreation
  • Alumni
  • Parents
  • Title IX / Non-Discrimination
Prefer browsing? Check out the A-Z directory

Popular

  • Commencement
  • Shop Denison / Bookstore
  • Denison Forward
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Academic Calendar
  • Majors
  • Career Exploration
  • Eisner Center
  • Employment
  • MyDenison

Your Most Viewed

    Prefer browsing? Check out the A-Z Directory

    Popular

    • Commencement
    • Shop Denison / Bookstore
    • Denison Forward
    • COVID-19 Coronavirus
    • Academic Calendar
    • Majors
    • Career Exploration
    • Eisner Center
    • Employment
    • MyDenison

    Your Most Viewed

      No Results

      About Denison

      • Fast Facts
      • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Antiracism
      • Our Administration
      • Our History
      • Ranking & Reviews
      • Sustainability

      Academics

      Denison’s purpose is to inspire and educate its students to become autonomous thinkers, discerning moral agents and active citizens of a democratic society.

      • Majors
      • Courses
      • Academic Calendar
      • Library
      • Study Abroad

      Admission & Aid

      We are thrilled that you are considering Denison during your college search, and we look forward to getting to know more about you.

      • Apply for Admission
      • Apply for Financial Aid
      • Visit Campus
      • Virtual Tour
      • Request Information
      • Meet the Staff

      Campus Life

      Our students bring diverse talents, interests, backgrounds, and experiences to campus; see how Denison helps them make this college their own.

      • Clubs & Organizations
      • Housing
      • Career Center
      • Exploring Granville & Columbus

      News & Events

      Denison's latest news, stories, and upcoming events from all around the hill and beyond.

      • Events & Athletics Schedule
      • Academic Calendar
      • Press Releases
      • Big Red Athletics
      • Denison Magazine

      Latest Featured News

      President Adam Weinberg speaks with alumni at the 2022 reunion.

      2022 Reunion classes celebrate, return in big numbers

      by

      Tom Reed

      June 9, 2022
      Professor Eric Liebl and Hannah Swahn '16

      Just follow the molecules

      June 7, 2022
      Student holding a graduation cap with a '2020' tattoo on their arm

      Class of 2020 returns, ready to celebrate and heal

      by

      Tom Reed

      June 6, 2022
      Denison University Home
      Map / Tour
      Events
      Give
      Apply
      • Search
      • Menu

      Press Releases

      Jennifer Garner ’94 to be Denison Commencement Speaker

      Jennifer Garner ’94 to be Denison Commencement Speaker

      Posted: April 18, 2019
      Members of the Denison Class of 2018 toss their mortarboards

      Members of the Denison Class of 2018 toss their mortarboards

      Jennifer Garner ’94

      Jennifer Garner ’94

      Denison University has announced that actor, advocate, and businessperson Jennifer Garner, a member of the Denison Class of 1994, will serve as the keynote speaker at the college’s 178th Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 18. At the ceremony, Garner will be recognized with the conferring of an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

      The Commencement ceremony is a ticketed event. Tickets are free to graduating seniors and their families. Denison is committed to making sure that all graduating senior family members will be accommodated. The Commencement Ceremony will be streamed live online for the public on the day of the event.

      Garner is an internationally acclaimed actor and advocate for children, serving as a trustee for Save the Children since 2008. She also recently co-founded the organic-food company Once Upon a Farm with the goal of providing children with high-quality, nutritious food that is produced using sustainable methods.

      Denison University President Adam Weinberg said, “Denison is proud to recognize the contributions of Jennifer Garner to the arts and to the lives of children. Through her work on stage and screen, Jennifer has inspired and enlightened, entertained and educated. She has given us characters that help bridge our differences and bring understanding to a complex world. In her work as an advocate for Save the Children, she has studied the issues, visited children in their homes, and testified before Congress. We are delighted to honor her accomplishments and proud to call her a Denisonian.”

      Garner studied theatre at Denison and quickly onboarded into her field, working in regional productions before heading to New York, then Los Angeles and her first major role as Sydney Bristow in the hit television show Alias in 2001, for which she received four consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She also earned four Golden Globe nominations for her role in Alias, winning the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama in 2002. She also was nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards for Alias and her portrayal of Dr. Eve Saks in The Dallas Buyers Club, winning for the former in 2005.

      Garner’s understanding of the afflictions of childhood poverty led her to become an advocate for Save the Children, an organization that is on the front lines of emergency and humanitarian responses around the world. And her work focusing on children has continued to expand. She was an advocate for the Children’s Defense Fund in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, a spokesperson for the American Lung Association’s Faces of Influenza campaign, and a prominent advocate and spokesperson for California Senate Bill 606, which became law in 2013 and protects the privacy of children in the state. In addition, Garner contributed the essay, “Turning Poverty Around: Training Parents to Help Their Kids,” to The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink, edited by Maria Shriver and published by the Center for American Progress in 2014.

      Watch Jen’s personal announcement to the graduating Class of 2019.

      100 West College Street
      Granville, Ohio 43023
      1-740-587-0810

      Footer menu

      • Pay Your Bill
      • MyDenison
      • Title IX / Non-Discrimination
      • Library
      • Shop Denison
      • Make a Gift

      Stay up to date with the latest campus news and upcoming events.

      Download our App »

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Instagram
      • Youtube

      Our Home:
      Granville, OH »

      • Employment
      • Consumer Information
      • Forms & Policies
      • Privacy Policy
      • Cookie Notice
      • Social Media Community Guidelines
      • Report a Bug

      Denison University's programs, offerings, events and arrangements are subject to change in the event of exigent circumstances, including the ongoing COVID-19 situation.