Banks ‘95, Latifah to Serve as Spring 2026 Commencement Speakers

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (April 13, 2026) – Two trailblazing women – Nia Danielle Banks ’95, M.D., Ph.D., FACS, and Queen Latifah – will serve as Spring 2026 Commencement keynote speakers, university officials announced today.

Banks, a board-certified plastic surgeon serving the Annapolis, Maryland, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas, is keynote speaker for the graduate student ceremony Friday, May 8, at 6 p.m. in First Horizon Coliseum at the Greensboro Complex.

Banks received her B.S. in chemical engineering from N.C. A&T and her M.D., Ph.D. and surgical training from Johns Hopkins University, where she became the first African American woman to complete its plastic surgery training program. She completed a craniofacial fellowship in Paris in 2008.

Banks is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program and completed the Associated Black Charities Board Pipeline Leadership Development Program in spring 2023. She is chair emeritus of the Student National Medical Association and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. She also is a commissioner of the Maryland Economic Development Commission, member of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and trustee for Baltimore Center Stage.

In 2009, Banks founded the Beaux Arts Institute of Plastic Surgery where she remains on the cutting edge in the field of cosmetic surgery. In 2020, she opened the Art of Balance Wellness Spa with a business partner to meet the growing needs of her cosmetic surgery clients and provide wellness therapies, spa experiences and aesthetic treatments.

Latifah, a multitalented, award-winning performer, producer and cultural icon, is keynote speaker for both baccalaureate student ceremonies Saturday, May 9, in First Horizon Coliseum. The first ceremony, at 9 a.m., is for the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, College of Education, College of Engineering, and John R. and Kathy R. Hairston College of Health and Human Sciences. The second, at 2:30 p.m., is for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics and the College of Science and Technology.

Latifah became the first hip-hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe nomination and a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nomination for her portrayal of Mama Morton in the feature musical “Chicago.” She also received an Emmy Award nomination, a Golden Globe win and a SAG Award win for her role in the cable film “Life Support.” She received a National Medal of the Arts from the U.S. government in 2024 and was a 2023 honoree at the 46^th Kennedy Center Honors.

Latifah earned seven Grammy Award nominations, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1994. In 2004, she was nominated for Best Female Rap Solo Performance for “Go Head.” In 2005, she was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album for “The Dana Owens Album,” and in 2008, she was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for “Trav’lin’ Light.”

Making her big screen debut in Spike Lee’s 1991 film, “Jungle Fever,” Latifah starred in the network comedy “Living Single” from 1993 to 1998. Her additional film credits include “Bringing Down the House,” “The Secret Life of Bees,” “Mad Money,” “Just Wright, ”“Joyful Noise,” “Last Holiday,” “Beauty Shop,” and “Girls Trip.”

From 2013 to 2014, she hosted “The Queen Latifah Show.” In May 2015, Latifah earned an Emmy Award nomination, Golden Globe nomination and a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for her role in the cable film “Bessie,” which she also produced.

Latifah most recently starred in and executive produced the CBS series reboot of “The Equalizer,” which quickly became TV’s No. 1 scripted series when it premiered in 2021 and ran five seasons through 2025. She will return as the voice of wooly mammoth Ellie in “Ice Age: Boiling Point,” the franchise’s sixth installment set for theatrical release Feb. 5, 2027.

Nearly 2,000 undergraduate students and almost 350 graduate students will participate during the ceremonies, which will be livestreamed.