Matt and Ross Duffer, class of 2007, will return to their old stomping grounds at Chapman University to deliver the keynote address at commencement.
The ceremony, set to take place at Wilson Field on May 22, will celebrate the class of 2026, a group that includes more than 3,000 graduates with 850 of those earning advanced degrees across Chapman’s 11 schools and colleges. Not only will the Duffer Brothers team up for the speech, Chapman will return the favor by presenting them with honorary doctorates.
The honorary degrees come their way after the Duffer Brothers achieved global success for being the masterminds behind Netflix’s hit horror franchise Stranger Things. The cultural phenomenon recently wrapped with its highly anticipated final season in December 2025. After graduating from Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in 2007, they carved a path in Hollywood by eventually launching their Upside Down Pictures in 2022, a company that has expanded its footprint across film, TV and stage.
They’re at work producing the Tony Award-winning West End and Broadway productions of Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Their slate includes a live-action Stranger Things spin-off and an animated series, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, as well as two Netflix original series, The Boroughs and the recent launch Something Very Bad is Going to Happen.
In other Duffer Brothers news, the Gotham Film & Media Institute announced today that they will receive a visionary tribute for Stranger Things at the third annual Gotham Television Awards, set to take place at New York’s Cipriani Wall Street on June 1.
“Matt and Ross Duffer represent the very best of Chapman — bold storytellers who turned their creative vision into work that has captivated audiences around the world,” said Chapman University president Matt Parlow. “Their journey from Dodge College to globally recognized creators is a powerful example for our graduates as they prepare to shape their own futures.”
Other boldfaced names to have spoken at the private university in Orange, Calif. are Hilary Swank, Bill Hader, Angela Bassett and Nobel Peace Laureate Nadia Murad.
