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Grammy-Winning Musician Jon Batiste and Senior U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, J.D. ’70 to Speak at 2023 Commencement

By Loyola University on Fri, 04/14/2023 - 17:00 Press Releases

Loyola University New Orleans will welcome Grammy Award-winning musician and New Orleans native Jon Batiste as the keynote speaker for the undergraduate/graduate Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 13 at 10 a.m. 

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Barbier, J.D. ’70 will deliver the keynote address at the College of Law Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 12 at 6 p.m.

Jon Batiste

Batiste has won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for his latest studio album, We Are. He shares an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, NAACP Image Award and Critic’s Choice Award for his work on the Disney/Pixar movie Soul. Batiste also served as the musical director and bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015-2022 and has appeared at the White House, Kennedy Center Honors, US Open, and the NBA All-Star Game.

“Jon embodies the creativity and vibrancy that make our city and our campus so unique,” said Fr. Justin Daffron, S.J. “I can’t think of a better speaker to energize and inspire our graduates as they prepare to take the next step in their journey.”

Batiste comes from a family of prominent musicians and attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts before earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Juilliard. 
In 2020, he gave Loyola’s graduating class an extraordinary musical gift, performing his original composition “Loyola Class of 2020 Shake.”

Carl J. Barbier 

U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier served 24 years on the bench in the Eastern District of Louisiana before retiring earlier this year. Barbier grew up in New Orleans and graduated from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 1970. 

As a federal judge, he handled a number of large, complex cases including litigation over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest oil spill in the nation’s history, which involved tens of thousands of cases.

Barbier served as president of the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association (now the Louisiana Association for Justice), president of the New Orleans Bar Association and president of the Thomas More Loyola Inn of Court and served on the board of the Loyola Law Alumni Association. He also was an adjunct faculty member at the law school and was the recipient of the 2018 St. Ives Award, the highest honor awarded by the College of Law Alumni Association. 

Both commencement events will be livestreamed on the university’s website via the YouTube Channel.

For additional information about commencement, visit: commencement.loyno.edu.