Katy Sullivan as Webster University's 2019 Commencement Speaker

Webster University is pleased to announce alumna Katy Sullivan as the Commencement Speaker for the 100th Commencement of the university, which was founded in 1915. The Commencement will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2019 at The Muny in Forest Park.

“In this historic year, we will celebrate a century of outstanding Webster alumni, including the Class of 2019, which celebrates Webster’s 200,000th graduate,” said Webster University President Elizabeth (Beth) J. Stroble. “We are delighted to be joined by several distinguished alumni as Webster students take their place on the world stage. And, we look forward to hearing alumna Katy Sullivan share her inspirational story.”

Marking the milestone commencement, Webster University will award four honorary doctorate degrees to alumni from throughout its history; Katy Sullivan will receive an honorary Doctorate of Human Letters.

Earning her BFA in Acting in Webster’s Conservatory of Theatre Arts in 2002, Sullivan graduated with department honors. She became an award-winning television and stage actress, producer and writer. She created SulliFlinn Productions with fellow Webster alumna Becca Flinn; the two produce online comedy content and short films and are developing a comedy, LEGS, based on their life experiences. They were named 2015 Fellows at the Producer’s Guild of America in their Power of Diversity program.

As an actress, Sullivan performed in The Long Red Road at the Goodman Theatre directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. She has appeared in television shows and independent films, including the award-winning documentary, WALK ON. In April 2018, Sullivan was nominated as Outstanding Actress by the Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance as Ani in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Cost of Living, for which she also won a Theatre World award.

Additionally, Sullivan is a four-time U.S. champion Paralympic runner in the 100 meters. She was born a bilateral transfemoral amputee, missing both legs through her femur bones. At the 2012 London Paralympic Games, she was among the first bilateral above the knee amputees to compete in ambulatory track and set the American record of 17.33 seconds in the 100 meters, finishing 6th in the world. To learn more about Sullivan’s remarkable career and accomplishments, visit www.KatySullivan.net

Webster’s Commencement will be the first public event held on the new and renovated stage at The Muny – as part of the historic municipal theatre’s centennial.

About Webster University With its home campus in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, Webster University (www.webster.edu) comprises an action-oriented global network of faculty, staff, students and alumni who forge powerful bonds with each other and with their communities around the globe. Founded in 1915, Webster is a private non-profit university with students studying at campus locations in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa and in a robust learning environment online. The university is committed to ensuring high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence.