UW-Madison announced Steven Levitan, a UW-Madison alumnus and the co-creator of ABC’s “Modern Family,” as the 2017 Spring Commencement speaker Wednesday.
Levitan is the winner of nine Emmy awards for writing, and has spent over 20 years in the television industry. He graduated from UW-Madison in 1984 and started his career as a news reporter in Madison before moving to Los Angeles in 1989.
Levitan is known as a writer and producer on "Frasier," "The Larry Sanders Show" and "Back to You,” but has earned most acclaim recently for “Modern Family.”
He says UW-Madison helped him learn many of the skills he needed to succeed in the television business, according to a university press release.
"We are thrilled to have Steven as our keynote speaker," Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in the release. "He has had a very successful career in a tough and competitive business. As someone who is responsible for entertaining millions of people with his comedies, I also suspect this year's graduates will get a few laughs along with some good advice."
Senior class officers are responsible for choosing and recommending commencement speakers.
"The Senior Class Office sought to bring back a Badger who not only put the Wisconsin Idea into action, but who could also ignite a fire in graduates to create their own stories in the next chapter of their lives," said Andre Hunter, Jr., senior class president.
The commencement ceremony will take place May 13 at 12 p.m. in Camp Randall Stadium.
The university also released a video to accompany the announcement.
