PHILADELPHIA, PA — Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University has announced that entertainment powerhouse Dyana Williams, KLN ‘97, will deliver the keynote address at the college's graduation ceremony. The ceremony, to be held on Wednesday, May 4, is to be held at the Liacouras Center at 5:30 p.m.
Williams, founder and CEO of Influence Entertainment, is a renowned advocate and authority in popular culture, especially Black music. The veteran award-winning on-air personality is a trailblazer in music, broadcasting, and celebrity media strategy. She's been a staple in radio since the 1970s, and has been a frequent commentator on the highly acclaimed TV One music series, UNSUNG.
“Dyana has inspired hundreds of aspiring entertainers and executives to successful careers,” said Klein College Dean David Boardman. “We’re thrilled to now have her inspire our Klein graduates, especially since she’s one of our own.”
Fondly referred to as "The Mother of Black Music Month," Williams helped establish June as Black Music Month, and was recognized for her music activism in the White House by Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush.
Dubbed by The New York Times as "hip-hop's artist whisperer," Williams has engineered media strategies for her celebrity clientele, including multiple Grammy Award winners, platinum-record-selling performers, executives, actors and athletes. Those clients have included Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Jazmine Sullivan, Kirk Franklin, Jack Harlow, Charlie Wilson and Saweetie, among others.
A popular speaker on Black music, Dyana has been featured on The Breakfast Club, Sway in the Morning, Get Up Mornings with Erica Campbell and other media shows. Additionally, Williams has been a featured speaker at The House of Commons in London, Howard University, Harvard University, The University of Pennsylvania, Hampton University, Temple University, Warner Brothers Records, YouTube, Amazon, NYU and many other institutions and corporations.
Williams sits on the Board of Visitors of the Klein College, as well as the board of the National Museum of African-American Music and the Recording Academy Philadelphia Chapter, where she is also a past president.
About Klein College of Media and Communication
The Klein College of Media and Communication shapes media and media-creators through a dynamic combination of academic rigor and practical training in the context of a diverse urban media market.
Klein fosters media solutions, innovation and discourse through its manifold research faculty and faculty-practitioners who represent a wealth of industry knowledge, theoretical and field research and groundbreaking technology. With this variety of thought coursing through the college, discussions are always held at the cutting edge of the ever-changing communication industry. Located in the heart of Philadelphia, faculty and students are able to directly apply this knowledge to one of the nation's largest media communities.
Klein aims to educate students to be ethical, critical and inventive leaders, producers and citizens in a multimedia and multicultural society. When Klein students graduate, they have not only acquired a variety of skills and abilities, but have become discerners of truth and meaning prepared to bring precision and creativity into the workplace.