Contact: Deanna Howes Spiro, Vice President of Communications, AJCU
(202) 862-9893, dhowes@ajcunet.edu
It’s that time of year again! The following is a list of speakers and dates for the 2021 commencement ceremonies at Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States. (Please note that this list will continue to be updated; stay tuned for more speaker announcements over the next few weeks.)
Boston College: May 24, 2021 In-person (limited attendance)
David Brooks (New York Times columnist, PBS, NPR, and NBC commentator, and best-selling author)
Canisius University: May 21 (Graduate Class of 2020); May 22 (Undergraduate Class of 2020); May 26 (Graduate Class of 2021); May 29 (Undergraduate Class of 2021) Hybrid (virtual ceremonies with multiple in-person “Graduation Walk” ceremonies)
Undergraduate: Rev. Peter Neeley, S.J. (director of high school and university educational programs for the Kino Border Initiative); Graduate: Hon. Eugene Fahey (Judge for the New York Court of Appeals)
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (College of the Holy Cross)
College of the Holy Cross: May 21, 2021 In-person (limited attendance)
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (U.S. Representative to the United Nations)
Holy Cross will host a United Convocation for the Class of 2020 on May 22 (holycross.edu)
Creighton University: May 13 (Law, Dentistry); May 14 (Graduate Nursing, Medicine, Pharmacy & Health Professions); May 15 (Arts & Sciences, Business, Undergraduate Nursing, Professional Studies, Graduate School) In-person (limited attendance)
Richard H. Frank (former managing director of the World Bank Group and CFO of the International Finance Corporation)
Judy Woodruff (Fairfield University)
Fairfield University: May 15 (Graduate Class of 2020); May 22 (Undergraduate Class of 2020); May 23 (Class of of 2021) Virtual (separate in-person events will be held for individual colleges during the week of May 17)
Judy Woodruff (anchor and managing editor of PBS NewsHour)
Fordham University: May 22 (separate ceremony for Law School will be held on May 23) Virtual (separate events will be held both in-person and virtually for individual colleges during the week of May 17)
Main Commencement: Retired Navy Admiral Michelle Howard (first woman to become a four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy); Law Commencement: Hillary Rodham Clinton (former U.S. Secretary of State, First Lady and Senator of New York)
Georgetown University: May 24, 2021 In-person (limited attendance) with live-stream
Speaker TBD
Gonzaga University: May 8 (Law, Graduate); May 9 (Undergraduate) In-person (limited attendance)
Law: Michele E. Storms (executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington); Graduate and Undergraduate: Dr. Thayne M. McCulloh (president of Gonzaga University)
John Carroll University: May 20 (Graduate Classes of 2020, 2021); May 22 (Undergraduate Class of 2020); May 23 (Undergraduate Class of 2021) In-person (limited attendance)
Graduate: Sean P. Nolan ’90 (former president and CEO of AveXis, Inc.); Undergraduate: Pete Williams (Justice Correspondent for NBC News, former government official)
Rev. David McCallum S.J. (Le Moyne College)
Le Moyne College: May 22 (Undergraduate Class of 2020); May 27 (Graduate Classes of 2020, 2021); May 28 (Undergraduate Class of 2021) In-person (limited attendance)
Undergraduate: Rev. David McCallum S.J. ’90 (executive director of the Discerning Leadership Program, a collaboration between Le Moyne College, the General Curia of the Society of Jesus, the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, ESADE in Spain, and Georgetown University)
Loyola Marymount University: May 8 (Undergraduate); May 9 (Graduate); May 16 (Law); July 31 (Campus-wide ceremony) May 8, 9 and 16 ceremonies will be held virtually; July 31 ceremony will be in-person (limited attendance)
Viola Davis (Oscar, Emmy and Tony-award winning actress)
Loyola University Chicago: May 10-15 Virtual (separate in-person events will be held for individual colleges during the week of May 10; main ceremony will be held on May 10)
May 10 ceremony speakers (all from Loyola University Chicago): Jo Ann Rooney, J.D., L.L.M., Ed.D. (president); Norberto Grzywacz, Ph.D. (provost); Robert Bucholz, Ph.D. (professor of History); Lucas Williamson (candidate for a Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Journalism); Soulit Chacko (candidate for a Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology)
Anna Deavere Smith (Loyola University Maryland)
Loyola University Maryland: May 22 (Classes of 2020, 2021) In-person (limited attendance)
Anna Deavere Smith (noted playwright, actor, and professor)
Loyola University New Orleans: May 15-16 (multiple diploma ceremonies, organized alphabetically by last name) In-person (limited attendance)
Speaker TBD
Loyola New Orleans will host in-person diploma ceremonies for the Class of 2020 on May 21 and May 22 (loyno.edu)
John Ridley (Marquette University)
Marquette University: May 23 In-person graduate recognition ceremonies (separate for undergraduate/graduate); Commencement speaker and President’s speech to be released online on May 22
John Ridley (Academy Award-winning screenwriter, director, novelist, playwright and showrunner)
Regis University: April 30 (Doctoral); May 1 (Health Professions, Business); May 2 (Regis College, School for Professional Advancement) In-person (limited attendance)
Rev. John P. Fitzgibbons, S.J. (president of Regis University)
Rockhurst University: May 21 In-person (limited attendance)
Undergraduate: Emma Martinez (Class of 2021); Graduate: Brandon Hernandez (Class of 2021)
Saint Joseph’s University: May 22 In-person (limited attendance)
Undergraduate: Ronald Dufresne, Ph.D. (associate professor of management and director of the Leadership, Ethics and Organizational Sustainability program at Saint Joseph’s); Graduate: Aimee LaPointe Tersoky, Ph.D. (associate professor of educational leadership and director of the Interdisciplinary Doctor of Education Program for Educational Leaders at Saint Joseph’s)
Saint Louis University: May 23 Virtual (separate in-person pre-commencement ceremonies will be held during the week of May 17)
Alexander Garza, M.D. (incident commander of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force)
Rev. Gregory Boyle, S.J. (Saint Peter’s University)
Saint Peter’s University: May 21 (Class of 2020); June 3 (Class of 2021) Virtual (separate in-person events will be held between June 7-17)
Class of 2020 Speaker: Rev. Gregory Boyle, S.J. (founder and director of Homeboy Industries); Class of 2021 Speaker: Carlos A. Medina, Esq. (president and CEO of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey)
Santa Clara University: June 12 Virtual (separate in-person events will be held on June 11)
Speaker TBD
Seattle University: June 13 Virtual
Speaker TBD
Spring Hill College: May 8 (Classes of 2020, 2021) Multiple in-person ceremonies (limited attendance) with virtual component
Speaker TBD
St. John’s College: June 3-4 In-person for three separate groups of students
Speaker TBD
The University of Scranton: May 22 (Graduate); May 23 (Undergraduate) In-person (limited attendance)
Susan M. St. Ledger (president of Worldwide Field Operations for Okta, Inc.)
University of Detroit Mercy: May 14 (Law, Dentistry); May 15 (McNichols Undergraduate, Graduate, Nursing); May 16 (McNichols Graduate) Virtual (in-person celebration with limited attendance will be held at the McNichols campus on May 16)
Richard Charlton ‘65 (founder of NEPC-LLC [formerly New England Pension Consultants])
University of San Francisco: May 21 Virtual
Speaker TBD
Xavier University: May 8 (Two ceremonies for Arts & Sciences and Nursing); May 9 (Two ceremonies for Professional Sciences and Business) In-person (limited attendance)
Four different alumni speakers for each ceremony
All photos courtesy of Jesuit colleges and universities.