Commencement speaker preview

Undergraduate degree ceremonies for the School of Architecture, the School of Communication, the School of Education and Human Development, the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Division of Continuing and International Education

A pivotal moment took place in Danny Ramírez’s life while he was a student at Oglethorpe University, where he played soccer. For much of his life, he envisioned a future on the pitch. Soccer was his passion, and he devoted countless hours to the sport throughout his high school and college days.   

That trajectory changed when an injury sidelined him to start his college career. As he stood on the sideline with his crutches, a production assistant approached the team and asked whether anyone would be interested in working as an extra on a film being shot at a nearby soccer field, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” starring Riz Ahmed, a British Pakistani actor and rapper. Ramírez raised his hand.

Seeing Ahmed on the soccer field during filming sparked what Ramírez has described as his “aha moment.” It was seeing him in a leading role that began to reshape Ramírez’s understanding of what was possible for him in Hollywood. 

“The universe is the best writer, the most efficient writer,” Ramírez has said when reflecting on his career. On that day, he knew the path written for him. 

The very next day, Ramírez bought as many acting books as he could find. He took on roles as an extra to become comfortable on set and later transferred to New York University’s Polytechnic program, a move that got him to New York, before eventually enrolling at the Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater.

For his disciplined artistry, commitment to meaningful storytelling, and spirited representation that inspires others to follow his lead, Ramírez is receiving a Doctor of Arts, honoris causa. 

Born in Chicago and raised in Miami, Ramírez is the son of parents from Colombia and Mexico. A graduate of Miami Coral Park Senior High School, he has always spoken with pride about his heritage and culture and how privileged he feels to represent the Hispanic communities through his work. 

While growing up in Miami, he became an avid Miami Hurricanes fan and continues to follow the Canes play. He has often spoken about the athletics program’s tenacity and can-do spirit as sources of inspiration and has attended games and events over the years. In 2024 he threw the first pitch at Mark Light Field. 

The fast-rising star began his acting career with television roles, appearing in series such as “The Gifted,” “Orange Is the New Black,” and “On My Block.” These early performances highlighted his natural charisma and vulnerability, helping him establish a presence on screen.                  

In 2022 Ramírez was introduced to a global audience with the release of “Top Gun: Maverick,” appearing alongside Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, and Glen Powell. He underwent months of intensive physical training for the role and overcame his fear of flying.       

He achieved a defining role in the 2021 Disney+ series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” portraying Joaquin Torres, a quick-witted Air Force captain. Acting opposite Anthony Mackie, Ramírez held his own within a franchise known for its larger-than-life characters. In 2025 he reprised the role in the feature film “Captain America: Brave New World,” also featuring Harrison Ford, further cementing his place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Ramírez appeared in the second season of the hit HBO series “The Last of Us,” the dual-timeline drama “Look Both Ways,” the 20th Century Studios thriller “No Exit” for Hulu, and A24’s “Stars at Noon,” among others. He has also appeared in high-profile commercial campaigns and served as ambassador for Michael Kors, appearing in campaigns shot in Saint-Tropez for the luxury brand, expanding his influence across film, television, and popular culture. 

Always eager to challenge himself creatively, Ramírez launched his own production company, Pinstripes, last year. He will make his feature directorial debut with “Baton,” a sports drama he wrote and will also star in, co-produced with Victoria Alonso and David Beckham.

Other upcoming projects include Todd Haynes’ romantic drama “De Noche,” opposite Pedro Pascal, and the Jean-Michel Basquiat biopic, “Samo Lives.”

The School of Law ceremony

For Judge Roy K. Altman, the stability of a nation is not a given—it depends entirely on the willingness of good people to serve. Rooted in his family's history as the grandson of refugees, Altman is committed to public service. His paternal grandparents fled Europe for Venezuela, and his maternal grandparents emigrated from Poland to Mexico and later Israel. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Altman immigrated to the United States as a young child, carrying with him a life-altering lesson from his grandfather: Political instability is what happens to a country when its citizens remain on the sidelines.

Guided by these ancestral values, Altman has spent his life answering the call to serve. On April 4, 2019, he made history as the youngest federal judge ever appointed to the Southern District of Florida. At age 36, he became the youngest federal district court judge in the country and the youngest federal judge ever appointed in Florida’s Southern District.

Altman’s distinguished career and ascent to the bench was paved by a pursuit of excellence. He was a student-athlete at Columbia University—an All-Ivy pitcher and quarterback—and went on to Yale Law School, where he served as projects editor of the Yale Law Journal. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Stanley Marcus on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He then spent six years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Miami, where he was named “Federal Prosecutor of the Year” in 2013 by the Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police and twice received the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys Director's Award for Superior Performance. Before his appointment to the bench, he was a partner at Podhurst Orseck, representing victims of major aviation disasters, including the families of those on Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared over the Indian Ocean.

Today, Altman is more than a jurist; he is a prolific writer and public speaker who frequently contributes to the national discourse on the rule of law and constitutional history. A member of the Federalist Society since 2004, he is a regular speaker at the organization's conferences on topics ranging from originalism to free speech. His scholarship has appeared in the University of Miami Law Review and Commentary Magazine, and his recently published book, “Israel on Trial: Examining the History, Evidence, and the Law,” applies courtroom-tested standards—such as burden of proof, corroboration, and chain of custody—to global debates surrounding international law. 

In recognition of his legal impact, he was named Judge of the Year for the Southern District of Florida by the Cuban American Bar Association in 2024 and received the University of Miami Inter-American Law Review’s Lawyer of the Americas Award in 2025. 

In the wake of Oct. 7, 2023, Altman has emerged as a tireless advocate and prominent voice on the dangers of rising antisemitism, speaking at more than 100 events nationwide. He has led historic judicial education missions to Israel, bringing more than 50 federal judges to the region, and was recently honored as one of the Jerusalem Post’s “25 ViZionaries” for his dedication to fighting antisemitism. In 2024 he also headed the World Jewish Congress’s U.S. delegation to Argentina for the 30th anniversary of the bombing of a Jewish community center headquarters in Buenos Aires. 

Altman’s impact is felt deeply at the School of Law, where he has served as a mentor to the next generation of legal minds. He has shared his expertise at the Miami Law Class Action and Complex Litigation Forum, served as a panelist for the Cardozo Jewish Legal Society, participated in judicial clerkship career panels, and judged for the John T. Gaubatz Moot Court Competition.

The Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine ceremony

Julio Frenk is a distinguished global leader in public health, higher education, and public service whose career has spanned academia, government, and international organizations. A renowned scholar and physician, he is currently the seventh chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles, a role he assumed after nearly a decade of transformative leadership at the University of Miami.

From 2015 to 2024, Frenk served as the sixth president of the University of Miami, where he led a period of significant academic, research, and clinical growth. Under his leadership, the University was invited to join the Association of American Universities, one of the most prestigious organizations of research universities in North America. During this time, UHealth – University of Miami Health System experienced major expansion, and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center earned designation from the National Cancer Institute, placing it among a highly select group of cancer centers nationwide.

Frenk also guided the University through the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing on decades of global public health experience. His presidency was marked by record-breaking philanthropy, including the launch of Ever Brighter: The Campaign for Our Next Century, which raised more than $2 billion to support student success, research, and institutional excellence.

Prior to his tenure in Miami, Frenk served as dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 2009 to 2015, where he strengthened the school’s global reach and interdisciplinary mission. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles at the World Health Organization and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, contributing to evidence-based policymaking and global health strategy.

Across these roles, Frenk’s work has had a far-reaching impact worldwide.

For his transformative contributions to public health and higher education, including strengthening global health systems and advancing knowledge in service of the public good, Frenk is receiving a Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Frenk’s impact on public health is perhaps most visible in his service as Mexico’s federal secretary of health from 2000 to 2006. In that role, he led sweeping reforms of the national health system and helped create Seguro Popular, a landmark initiative that expanded access to comprehensive health coverage for more than 55 million previously uninsured people. He was also the founding director-general of Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health, now one of the leading public health institutions in the developing world.

A prolific scholar, Frenk has authored nearly 200 peer-reviewed articles and numerous books and chapters, with his work cited tens of thousands of times. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and El Colegio Nacional de México. He holds a medical degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan.

Graduate degree ceremonies for the Graduate School; College of Arts and Sciences; College of Engineering; Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science; Miller School of Medicine; School of Nursing and Health Studies; School of Architecture; Patti and Allan Herbert Business School; School of Communication; School of Education and Human Development; and the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music

Internationally renowned as an authority on health care policy and a highly esteemed educator, Steven G. Ullmann has devoted nearly five decades to teaching, scholarship, and academic leadership at the University of Miami. Over the course of his career, he has educated upwards of 15,000 students while shaping institutional policy, mentoring future leaders, and influencing the evolution of health care management and public policy at the local, national, and global levels. 

Professor and director of the Center for Health Management and Policy at the Miami Herbert Business School, Ullmann holds secondary appointments in the Department of Economics as well as in the Department of Public Health Sciences and the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health in the Miller School of Medicine, specializing in the areas of health care management, health care economics, and health care policy.

Throughout his tenure, Ullmann has served as vice provost for faculty affairs and University administration, dean of the Graduate School, director of academic programs in health administration, and department chair. 

He is the recipient of more than 25 teaching and service awards, including the President’s Medal, the Faculty Senate Outstanding Teaching Award, the Patrick Masala Award, and the James W. McLamore Outstanding Service Award.

Since joining the University in 1979, Ullmann has witnessed—and helped shape—a period of extraordinary growth and transformation in the health care sector. During this time, health care has expanded from 8 percent to nearly 20 percent of the nation’s economic activity, becoming a $5.3 trillion industry. Ullmann has played an influential role in guiding how that trend has evolved in South Florida and beyond. Among his most consequential contributions to national health care policy is his early leadership in advancing long-term care and hospice care. These efforts helped bring compassionate, patient-centered end-of-life care into the mainstream of health policy and practice, leaving a lasting imprint on the health care system. 

Beyond academia, Ullmann has served on governing boards and ethics boards of several health care organizations and as a consultant within the health care industry. Additionally, Ullmann has worked globally on projects focused on the privatization of health services and the implementation of health care management structures in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. 

His expertise has been sought after by various local, national, and global media, including the Miami Herald, the Sun Sentinel, PBS Nightly Business Reports, CBS, Fox Business News, and CNN.

Ullmann is a principal coordinator of the Miami Herbert Business School Business of Health Care Conference, which recently celebrated its 15th year and is the largest academic gathering of its kind, convening the industry’s top leaders to address its most pressing issues.

A native of San Francisco, Ullmann earned a bachelor's degree in economics with distinction from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree and doctorate in economics from the University of Michigan. He also holds certification in bioethics and advanced bioethics from the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University.

Prior to joining the University of Miami, Ullmann worked as a research associate with two consulting firms, Health Manpower Policy Studies Group and Policy Analysis Inc. He has authored more than 50 monographs, books, book chapters, refereed journal articles, commentaries, invited articles, and abstracts published in leading journals, including Inquiry, Applied Economics, Journal of Health Care Finance, Medical Care Research and Review, and the New England Journal of Medicine.