Yes, Matt Damon spoke at MIT’s commencement Friday, but Harvard’s where a lot of other celebrities have been hanging out lately.
Actor Channing Tatum, rapper/actor LL Cool J, and NBA players Pau Gasol and Chris Paul were all seated in a Harvard Business School classroom the other day, taking part in an executive education class taught by professor Anita Elberse in the business of entertainment, media, and sports program.
Predictably, the Gasol sighting in Boston touched off speculation that he might be here scouting the city as he decides where he might want to sign as an unrestricted free agent. But NBA free agency doesn’t actually begin until July, and teams can’t sign players until then.
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According to a HBS Facebook post, Tatum, star of the “Magic Mike” movies, was the first-ever “live case” in the class, where participants “shared ideas to help him innovate in the film industry.”
Elberse is the author of “Blockbusters: Hit-Making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment,” chronicling the business moves of Jay Z, Lady Gaga, and others. Previously, Dwayne Wade was a participant in the program. Wade also came back to the class, with NFL receiver Brandon Marshall, to speak last year.
The class runs from June 1 through 4. It’s part of Harvard’s Executive Education program, and, according to HBS, they’ll receive a certificate of completion when they finish.
So yeah, this is happening. Four legends signed up to take my ExecEd course." Only at @HarvardHBS! #HBSExecEd pic.twitter.com/3RyjLVmBID
— Anita Elberse (@anitaelberse) June 2, 2016
I'm taking classes at the Harvard business school. You're never too cool to learn! @hbsexeced @harvardhbs 📷Kev.wolf pic.twitter.com/ZX37EyZ50t
— LLCOOLJ. (@llcoolj) June 2, 2016
.@ChanningTatum was the subject of tonight’s first ever “live case” in @AnitaElberse’s @HBSExecEd class! pic.twitter.com/c1kT4SZq6r
— Harvard Business (@HarvardHBS) June 2, 2016
See a video of Wade visiting Harvard from last year:
Emily Sweeney and Matt Pepin of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Heather Ciras can be reached at heather.ciras@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @heatherciras.