High Point University

HIGH POINT — High Point University’s 2018 commencement ceremony will continue the school’s tradition of bringing to campus world-renown leaders and innovators who inspire graduates for the future. Josh Groban, internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter and actor, whose baritone voice is instantly recognizable, will deliver the commencement address on Saturday, May 5.

 The ceremony begins at 9 a.m. and is open to graduates, families, faculty, students and special guests of the university. The media is invited to attend. The ceremony also will be available via live stream at www.highpoint.edu/live.

Nearly 10,000 people will fill High Point University’s Roberts Hall Lawn for the outdoor ceremony. The university will award approximately 1,000 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees.

Possessing one of the most outstanding and instantly recognizable voices in music, singer, songwriter and actor Josh Groban has entertained fans across the globe with his multiplatinum albums and DVDs (over 30 million sold worldwide), electrifying live performances, and comedic film and television appearances.

The 35-year-old Los Angeles native is the only artist who has had two albums appear on the Top 20 Best-Selling Albums list of the past decade, according to Billboard. He has appeared in the feature films “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “The Hollars,” “Coffee Town,” and “Muppets Most Wanted,” as well as on NBC’s “The Office,” FX’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and CBS’ “The Crazy Ones.”

Groban has released seven studio albums – his 2001 self-titled 5x-platinum debut, 2003’s 6x-platinum “Closer,” 2006’s double-platinum “Awake,” 2007’s 6x platinum Grammy-nominated “Noel,” 2010’s gold-certified “Illuminations,” and 2013’s gold-certified “All That Echoes,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, giving Groban his first No. 1 debut and third chart-topper.

Groban earned Grammy Award nominations for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for his 2015 album “Stages,” a collection of some of the greatest songs from musical theater, and 2016’s “Stages Live,” which featured performances recorded at the historic Los Angeles Theater for his all-new PBS special, “Josh Groban: Stages Live.”

An active arts education philanthropist and advocate, Groban is a member of Americans for the Arts Artists Committee, and Groban’s Find Your Light Foundation helps enrich the lives of young people through arts, education and cultural awareness.

Groban becomes part of an extraordinary lineup of HPU Commencement speakers, including Wolf Blitzer, lead political anchor at CNN; the 66th Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; broadcast legend Tom Brokaw; Gen. Colin Powell, former secretary of state, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and national security advisor; former First Lady Laura Bush; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas; Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple and HPU’s Innovator in Residence; Rudy Giuliani, former New York City Mayor; Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan; NASA Astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin and Muhtar Kent, CEO of the Coca-Cola Company.