Ashton Kutcher to Address Harvard College Class of 2020 at Class Day Dinner

Actor and producer Ashton Kutcher will address the Harvard College Class of 2020 at its Class Day Dinner later this month.

The Classes of 2020 and 2021 are set to have joint in-person Commencement exercises after their in-person Commencements were postponed due to Covid-19. The Class of 2020 will gather for a Class Day Dinner on May 28, during which Kutcher is scheduled to speak. In typical years, Class Day celebrates College graduates and includes remarks from a featured speaker and College Dean Rakesh Khurana on the day before the University’s Commencement Exercises.

The 2020 Class Committee announced Kutcher’s selection in an email to their class on Monday.

Ashton Kutcher, pictured at the Time 100 Gala in 2010. By David Shankbone via Wikimedia Commons

Kutcher is an actor, producer, and entrepreneur who began his career by starring in the sitcom “That ’70s Show,” which ran from 1998 to 2006. He made his first film appearance in 1999 with the movie “Coming Soon” and later starred in the 2004 psychological film “The Butterfly Effect” and the romantic comedy “No Strings Attached” in 2011.

Kutcher also produced the television show “Punk’d” in 2003, acted in the sitcom “Two and a Half Men” from 2011 to 2015, and portrayed Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in the film “Jobs,” which was chosen to close the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Beyond acting, Kutcher has invested in several start-ups — including Uber and Airbnb — through his venture capital firm. In 2012, Kutcher co-founded human rights organization Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children to address the sexual exploitation of children.

Comedian Conan C. O’Brien ’85 addressed the Class of 2020 during its virtual commencement exercises. He also previously delivered the Class Day speech in 2000.

Boston mayor Michelle Wu ’07 is set to address the Class of 2022 for its Class Day on May 25. The Class of 2021 has yet to announce its Class Day speaker, though it is set to have a Class Day Dinner on the same night.

—Staff writer Vivi E. Lu can be reached at vivi.lu@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @vivielu_.

—Staff writer Leah J. Teichholtz can be reached at leah.teichholtz@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @LeahTeichholtz.