Jane Lynch. Photo: Starla Fortunato

Emmy Award-winning actor Jane Lynch will be the keynote speaker at this year’s commencement ceremony for Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department graduates at the Chicago Theatre, where she will receive an honorary degree. Lynch grew up in the south suburbs, and performed in Chicago with Second City, Steppenwolf, Organic, and portrayed Carol Brady in the long-running THE REAL LIVE BRADY BUNCH at the Annoyance Theatre.

Lynch’s portrayal of P.E. teacher Sue Sylvester on Glee earned her an Emmy Award as well as a People’s Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actress. Her film credits include The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Role Models, Another Cinderella Story and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Other honorary degree recipients are Columbia College alum and film producer Paul Garnes; Grammy Award-winning songwriter Diane Warren, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and poet Tracy K. Smith, and Carlos Tortolero, founder and president of Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art.