CUNY is celebrating the inspiring determination of its Class of 2021 in a series of virtual ceremonies produced by campuses across the five boroughs. The students will be feted for their resilience and tenaciousness by a distinguished group of speakers from the worlds of medicine, literature and the arts, philanthropy and public service.
The celebrations will honor the students’ success in completing their degrees despite a final year-and-a-half that was marked by the disruptions and ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is fitting that CUNY’s Class of 2021 is graduating just as the City is beginning to emerge from one of the most challenging years in memory,” said Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, who will address graduates with special messages that will be part of most of the virtual celebrations. “These graduates embody the resilience of their communities – many of which bore a disproportionate share of the pandemic’s painful impact – but make no mistake: Their imminent entry into the workforce will provide the very heartbeat of the city’s recovery.”
Chancellor Matos Rodríguez will also attend in-person Graduate Walks at Kingsborough Community College and the College of Staten Island, which will provide an opportunity for students to have a short, informal celebration of their achievement with their classmates. Students will wear caps and gowns, have their names called, and have the opportunity to stand for photos.
Here are some of the speakers who will address the CUNY Class of 2021:
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who will deliver greetings to graduates of Hunter College, Queens College, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, Bronx Community College (BCC), and Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Joanne Waldstreicher, distinguished alumna and chief medical officer at Johnson & Johnson, will address Brooklyn College on May 27. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries will be the keynote speaker at New York City College of Technology’s ceremony on June 3.
New York State Attorney General Letitia (Tish) James will provide the keynote at Bronx Community College on June 4. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the New York Senate majority leader and a Lehman College alumna, will be the keynote speaker at Lehman’s May 27 ceremony.
Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, an attorney and diplomat who currently serves as the chief of staff to First Lady Jill Biden, will address graduates of Hostos Community College on May 28.
Writer, activist and comedian Baratunde Thurston will serve as the keynote speaker at Macaulay Honors College on June 3, where he will also receive an honorary degree from the college.
Joshua (J1) Raiford, director of hip hop at Pandora and program director at SXM Pandora, will address graduates of Guttman Community College on June 17.
Honorary Degrees
Dolores Huerta, iconic civil rights activist and leader of the farm workers labor movement, will receive an honorary degree from Lehman College, where alumnus and Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. will also receive the Presidential Medal. Hostos Community College will award an honorary degree to former Congressman José E. Serrano.
Economist Raj Chetty will receive an honorary degree from Baruch College for his work, which has shaped public policy and bolstered our understanding of the importance of CUNY and other institutions of public higher education in promoting social mobility.
The College of Staten Island (CSI) will award honorary degrees to philanthropists Jay Chazanoff and his late wife Lucille, whose $7.5M donation to CSI’s School of Business in 2019 remains the largest individual donation ever made to a nonprofit organization in Staten Island. CSI will also honor alumna Virginia Allen, the last living member of the Black Angels, a group of approximately 300 Black women who were recruited to care for quarantined tuberculosis patients at Sea View Hospital beginning in the 1920s, after white nurses walked out.
Heather McGhee, a racial justice advocate and New York Times bestselling author of “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together,” will receive an honorary degree from the CUNY School of Public Health, where she will also serve as keynote speaker.
Medgar Evers College will award honorary degrees to Ziggy Marley, eight-time Grammy-winning musician and humanitarian, and Michael T. Pugh, CEO of Carver Bank, the largest African- and Caribbean-American managed bank in the United States.
Queens College will bestow the Presidential Medal on Congressman Adriano Espaillat. Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, will receive an honorary degree from Brooklyn College and will also speak.
Kingsborough Community College will award an honorary degree to actor/comedian Chris Rock.
GRADUATION 2021 SCHEDULE:
May 27
HUNTER COLLEGE
What: College-wide virtual celebration with pre-recorded videos will launch via a commencement portal
Who: Remarks will be delivered by Senator Schumer.
COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND
Who: Speakers will include CUNY Trustees Michael Arvanites and Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, CSI President William J. Fritz, and Faculty speakerMichael DeConzo, adjunct professor in the School of Education. Honorary degree recipients Virginia Allen, Jay Chazanoff and Lucille Chazanoff(posthumous). Valedictorian Nicole Agu and Salutatorian Anes Ahmed.
When: 9:30 a.m.
Plus: CSI will hold Graduate Walks with 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. sessions on June 9, 10, 11. Students will celebrate in person with classmates, have a professional photograph taken and be cheered on by faculty and staff. The events will be livestreamed on the school’s Facebook page.
LEHMAN COLLEGE
What: The 2021 virtual commencement ceremony will be livestreamed on Lehman’s YouTube channel and website, BronxNet.tv, and BronxNet cable channels.
Who: Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the New York Senate majority leader and president pro tempore and a Lehman alumna, will be the graduation speaker. Honorary degree recipients are former Congressman Eliot Engel, author and journalist T.J. English and activist Dolores Huerta, a civil rights icon. Lehman alumnus and Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz will receive the Presidential Medal.
When: 10 a.m.
BARUCH COLLEGE
What: Baruch will confer degrees to more than 5,600 undergraduate and graduate students from the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and the Zicklin School of Business. The virtual experience can be viewed on the College’s homepage,www.baruch.cuny.edu.
Who: President S. David Wu will preside over the virtual experience, his first commencement ceremony since he began his term in July 2020.Interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs Myung-Soo Lee will serve as the master of ceremonies. Assemblywoman Karinés Reyes will deliver the keynote address.
When: 10 a.m.
BROOKLYN COLLEGE
What: Virtual Commencement Celebration
Who: Speakers will include Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, who will receive an honorary degree; andJoanne Waldstreicher, chief medical office at Johnson & Johnson and distinguished alumna.
When: 10 a.m.
May 28
YORK COLLEGE
Who: The keynote speaker will be Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, with remarks delivered by Valedictorian Katherine Roman and Salutatorian Wing Man Ho (Vivian).
When: 12 p.m.
HOSTOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
What: The commencement ceremony will stream on the Hostos YouTube Channel.
Who: Former Congressman José E. Serrano will receive an honorary degree – an Associate of Humane Letters (A.H.L.) and the commencement speaker will be Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon, who currently serves as the Chief of Staff to First Lady Jill Biden.
When: 2 p.m.
June 3
QUEENS COLLEGE
Who: Senator Schumer, Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, Congresswoman Grace Meng, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, Councilmember James Gennaro and CUNY Trustee Kevin Kim. Miriam Rafailovichwill be the honorary degree recipient and Congressman Adriano Espaillat will receive a Presidential Medal. The graduate address will be given byAnna Savva.
When: 9 a.m.
CUNY GRADUATE CENTER
Who: President Robin L. Garrell will give a short address and nearly two dozen faculty members will offer congratulations. Graduates’ names and photos will be scrolled. The hope is to hold a modified in-person ceremony in October.
What: The class of 2021 video tribute, about 30 minutes in length, will stream live on The Graduate Center’s YouTube channel
When: 1 p.m.
MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE
What: Medgar Evers College celebrates the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021.
Who: Doctor of Humane Letters will be awarded to Michael T. Pugh, CEO of Carver Bank, the largest African- and Caribbean-American-managed bank in the United States. Doctor of Fine Arts will be awarded to Ziggy Marley, eight-time Grammy winner, Emmy winner, musician, producer, activist, and humanitarian.
When: The ceremony will be presented online at 11 a.m. at https://mec.sharedstudios.events.
MACAULAY HONORS COLLEGE
Who: Dean Mary C. Pearl, Chief Academic Officer Joseph Ugoretz, alumni speaker Anita Sonawane ’11 (Queens), student speakers Kay Kelly ’21 (City) and Devjani Paul ’21 (City) and many other dignitaries and well-wishers. Writer, activist and comedian Baratunde Thurston will serve as the 2021 commencement speaker and is set to receive an honorary degree from the college.
When: 3 p.m.
NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Who: Congressman Hakeem Jeffries is the keynote speaker, with Valedictorian Youshmanie Sukraj and Salutatorian Xiaona Zhou.
When: 4 p.m.
CUNY SCHOOL OF LABOR AND URBAN STUDIES
Who: Senator Schumer, State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins, Dean Gregory Mantsios and student speaker Eriam Lopez. ValedictorianJustin Sanchez and Salutatorian Kofi Bentum
When: 5 p.m. on CUNY TV
CUNY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
What: Virtual Commencement Celebration
Who: Heather McGhee, an advocate for racial equality and New York Times bestselling author, will deliver the keynote address and will receive an honorary Doctor of Science in Public Health degree from the school.
When: 3 p.m.
June 4
BRONX COMMUNITY COLLEGE
What: The 2021 virtual video commencement celebration will stream online.
Who: Keynote remarks from Letitia (Tish) James, NYS attorney general, and remarks from Senator Schumer. President Thomas Isekenegbe will also speak.
When: 9:30 a.m.
CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK
Who: The keynote speaker will be Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University; president, Social Science Research Council; and deputy director for science and society, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
When: 10 a.m.
QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
What: Queensborough’s 60th annual Commencement Ceremony. Streamed via YouTube.
Who: Speakers will include Christine Mangino, QCC president; Timothy G. Lynch, provost and senior vice president; Steven Dahlke, assistant professor, Department of Music; Margot Edlin, associate professor, Department of English; Arnab Sharma, SGA president.
When: 11 a.m.
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Who: Speakers will include Senator Schumer; President Anthony E. Munroe; Erwin Wong, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs;Marva Craig, vice president for student affairs; Valedictorian Fernanda Carvalho Santos, Dean’s Award Recipient and SGA President Josiah Ramesar.
When: 11 a.m.
June 17
GUTTMAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
What: Salute to Graduates Ceremony
Who: Speakers will be Joshua (J1) Raiford, director of hip hop at Pandora and now program director at SXM Pandora; Michael Lawrence Collins, vice president of jobs for The Future’s postsecondary state policy team.
When: 2 p.m.
LAGUARDIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
What: LaGuardia’s Virtual 49th Commencement Celebration
Who: The keynote speaker will be Sofia Moncayo, who stepped up to help out her Queens community during the pandemic. She has been organizing food distribution for Sunnyside/Woodside folks (and beyond) through the Mosaic Community Center.
When: 1 p.m.
KINGSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
What: Virtual Live & Pre-Recorded Program
Who: Featuring guest speaker Nancy Lee Sánchez, Ed.D., executive director, Kaplan Educational Foundation; KCC Foundation Board Member, and alumna. Actor and comedian Chris Rock, who attended KCC, will receive an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters.
When: 11 a.m.
Plus: KCC’s Graduate Salute Week, June 14-18 and 22, will feature informal Graduate Walks. Students will wear caps and gowns and have the opportunity to stand for photos. Sessions on all days at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and (June 17 only) 5 p.m.
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