Marvel Studios president to speak at commencement


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Kevin Feige, wearing a black cap, smiles for the camera.
 Kevin Feige won a slew of accolades for his work, including the Mary Pickford Alumni Award and the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment. “He’s a creative force,” President Carol Folt said of Feige.  (Photo courtesy of Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios president, producer and USC alum, will deliver the commencement address at the University’s 140th spring commencement ceremony, the University announced in a press release Wednesday. 

Feige, who graduated from the School of Cinematic Arts in 1995, leads Marvel Studios — home to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the highest grossing film franchise of all time at a cumulative $26.6 billion in box office revenue. Ten movies from the MCU have each grossed over $1 billion worldwide; “Avengers: Endgame” (2019) and “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), in particular, earned $2 billion each at the box office. 

“He’s a creative force: an impresario who builds extraordinary teams and tells magical, diverse stories that captivate people around the world,” said President Carol Folt in the press release. “He sat in the same seats and walked the same paths as so many of our students — and look where his adventure has taken him. I can’t wait to hear his inspiring stories.” 

Feige, who currently sits on SCA’s Board of Councilors, established the Kevin Feige Endowed Fund for Creative Producing with the school in 2017 to support courses on taking projects from “idea to distribution.” 

In 2014, Feige received the Mary Pickford Alumni Award, an annual honor given to a former University student “whose extraordinary achievements bring special distinction to the USC School of Cinematic Arts and to the industry,” according to the Mary Pickford Foundation’s website. 

“Feige is an outstanding role model for all SCA students, as creative producing is a core competency across the breadth of the school’s curriculum, a hallmark of the industry’s best practitioners,” said SCA Dean Elizabeth Daley in Wednesday’s press release. 

In 2018, Feige received the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to
Entertainment from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The following year, he was awarded the Producers Guild of America’s David O. Selznick Achievement Award. 

 “I’m honored and humbled to be asked to be the commencement speaker celebrating the 2023 graduating class,” Feige said in the release, “as they carry their own USC experience into the world to do big things as part of the next generation of storytellers and innovators and leaders.” 

The 140th commencement ceremony will be held May 12, 8:30 a.m. at Alumni Memorial Park.