More than 50,000 graduates of The City University of New York will attend commencements across the five boroughs starting this week as colleges hold ceremonies for the class of 2023. The graduates will hear from an array of distinguished speakers, including many CUNY alumni, who will speak to their successes in government, entertainment, entrepreneurship and leadership.
Pictured: George Takei, who keynotes CUNY Graduate Center’s commencement June 2.
The class of 2023 is as diverse as New York City itself, and these graduates will soon follow in the footsteps of millions of alumni as they become an integral part of the city’s workforce. Their CUNY degrees will propel them into fulfilling careers that improve not only their own socioeconomic mobility, but that of their family members and future generations.
The graduates will celebrate their successes at iconic city locations throughout the five boroughs, including the main branch of the New York Public Library and the Apollo Theater in Manhattan; Louis Armstrong Stadium and UBS Arena in Belmont Park in Queens; and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and the Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk.
“Our CUNY Class of 2023 is a fabulous representation of why commencement season remains my favorite time of year,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “This is a time for us all to honor this remarkable group of graduating students who strengthened our campuses and classrooms with their pursuit of knowledge, curiosity and determination to achieve personal and professional goals. We hope that our city will join us in celebrating this exceptional class of graduates who are ready and eager to use what they have learned at CUNY to lift up New York City.”
Tens of Thousands of Uplifting Student Success Stories
CUNY’s graduates include Maral Artykova, currently in the B.A./M.A. program for forensic psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She hasn’t seen her mother since coming to the United States from Turkmenistan at age 15. “After 10 long years of tears and hard work I was able to finally invite my mom to attend my graduation, and I am beyond grateful to the John Jay and CUNY community for supporting me and giving me an opportunity to study even though I was an asylum recipient,” she said.
They also include Louis Simeone, who returned to college at 63 years old and is completing the associate program in human services at Borough of Manhattan Community College. As a person with a hearing impairment enrolled in classes at an older age, he worried about his ability to succeed in class. “With the incredible support of my professor, I learned I have a voice and that voice can make a difference,” he shared. Simeone plans to continue his educational journey at CUNY. He will begin in the bachelor’s program in human services and community justice at John Jay College.
And there is also Gabriela Flores, who served for two years as the editor-in-chief of her college’s student newspaper, The Vanguard, and will graduate from Brooklyn College with a B.A. in television, radio and emerging media. “[Realizing] how limited Latino and Hispanic issues were reported outside of Spanish-speaking networks in America … led me to want to uplift my community’s experiences in spaces where it’s typically underreported or silenced,” she said in this interview with Brooklyn College. Flores’ writing and editing work has been recognized by the New York Press Association.
An Impressive Speaker Lineup
Political leaders, actors, entrepreneurs, authors and a hip-hop icon are among the inspiring speakers and award recipients who will be part of the festivities for the class of 2023. Below are a few highlights. (Honorary degree recipients are pending approval by the CUNY Board of Trustees.)
- Christopher Alexander, a 2018 graduate of the CUNY School of Law and the inaugural executive director of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, will address the CUNY School of Law on May 12. A longtime social justice advocate, he is also the architect of the Start SMART NY campaign to end marijuana prohibition and the lead drafter of New York’s marijuana legalization bill. Congress Member Jamaal Bowman, who represents New York’s 16th District, will also be receiving the Dean’s Medal.
- Pulitzer-, Grammy-, Tony- and Emmy-winning composer and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, who graduated from Hunter College High School in 1998, will address the class of 2023 and receive an honorary degree from Hunter College on May 30. Miranda is the creator and original star of the Tony-winning musicals “Hamilton” and “In the Heights” and is the recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Award and Kennedy Center Honors.
- Emmy award-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sam Pollard, who graduated from Baruch in 1973, and former Baruch student Hamdi Ulukaya, the Turkish-born entrepreneur and philanthropist who is the CEO and founder of Chobani, will both receive honorary degrees from Baruch College on May 30. Pollard is also Baruch’s Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence, the first Baruch alum to earn the accolade, and he is currently teaching a class called “Storytelling in Film: Writing for Film and Television.”
- DJ Grandmaster Flash (born Joseph Saddler), a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner who pioneered techniques like cutting, scratching and transforming vinyl records – now hallmarks of the hip-hop genre – will speak at Lehman College on June 1. Former New York State Assembly Member José Rivera will receive an honorary degree.
- New York State Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado will be the keynote speaker and Presidential Medal Recipient at Queens College on June 1. Actor, filmmaker and former Queens College student Jon Favreau, who created “The Mandalorian” series and is known for his work with Marvel Studios and for movies like “Chef,” will receive an honorary degree.
- CUNY distinguished professor emerita Tania León will be the commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient at Brooklyn College on June 2. Leon is a composer, conductor and educator who taught at Brooklyn College for more than 25 years and is a recipient of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Music as well as a Kennedy Center Honor.
- Actor, author and activist George Takei, who spent time in Japanese internment camps during World War II, will speak and receive an honorary degree at the CUNY Graduate Center on June 2. Takei, who has more than 10 million followers on social media, originated the role of Hikaru Sulu on the original “Star Trek” series and is also a vocal advocate for LGBTQIA+ and immigration rights.
Below is a list of the University’s 2023 commencement ceremonies:
Friday, May 12
CUNY School of Law
Queens College, Colden Auditorium, 11 a.m.
https://www.law.cuny.edu/students/commencement/
Wednesday, May 24
Macaulay Honors College
United Palace, 3 p.m.
https://macaulay.cuny.edu/news-events/commencement/
Thursday, May 25
College of Staten Island
College of Staten Island, Great Lawn, 9:30 a.m.
https://www.csi.cuny.edu/campus-life/commencement
CUNY School of Professional Studies
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Louis Armstrong Stadium, 11 a.m.
https://cunysps.swoogo.com/commencement2023
Tuesday, May 30
Baruch College
Barclays Center, 9 a.m.
https://studentaffairs.baruch.cuny.edu/studentlife/commencement/
CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy
Apollo Theater, 2 p.m.
https://sph.cuny.edu/students/commencement-2023/
Hunter College
Barclays Center, 3 p.m.
https://hunter.cuny.edu/students/academic-planning/commencement-ceremony/
Wednesday, May 31
Hostos Community College
Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, Main Theater, 2 p.m. (first of two ceremonies)
https://www.hostos.cuny.edu/Campus-Life/Commencement
Thursday, June 1
Queens College
Queens College, The Quad, 9 a.m.
Medgar Evers College
Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island, 10 a.m.
https://www.mec.cuny.edu/commencement-2023/
Lehman College
Lehman College, South Field, 10 a.m.
https://www.lehman.edu/classof2023/
York College
UBS Arena, 10:30 a.m.
https://www.york.cuny.edu/commencement
Hostos Community College
Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, Main Theater, 11 a.m. (second of two ceremonies)
https://www.hostos.cuny.edu/Campus-Life/Commencement
CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
New York Public Library, Main Branch, 4 p.m.
https://slu.cuny.edu/current-students/commencement/
Friday, June 2
Brooklyn College
Barclays Center, 9 a.m.
https://www.brooklyn.edu/dosa/administrative-services/graduation/commencement/
Bronx Community College
Bronx Community College, 9:30 a.m.
https://www.bcc.cuny.edu/campus-life/student-life/commencement/
The City College of New York
The City College of New York, Great Lawn, 10 a.m.
https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/commencement
Queensborough Community College
Queensborough Community College, Athletic Field, 9:30 a.m.
https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/commencement/
CUNY Graduate Center
Lincoln Center, David Geffen Hall, 1:30 p.m.
https://www.gc.cuny.edu/commencement/commencement-2023
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Barclays Center, 3:30 p.m.
https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/commencement
Saturday, June 3
New York City College of Technology
Barclays Center, 3 p.m.
https://www.citytech.cuny.edu/commencement/
Monday, June 5
CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies
CUNY Graduate Center, Proshansky Auditorium, 10:30 a.m.
https://cunyba.cuny.edu/commencement/
Thursday, June 8
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Barclays Center, 9 a.m.
https://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/commencement/
Wednesday, June 21
Guttman Community College
Bryant Park, 9 a.m.
https://guttman.cuny.edu/students/commencement/
LaGuardia Community College
Queens College, The Quad, 9:30 a.m.
https://www.laguardia.edu/commencement/
Kingsborough Community College
Kingsborough Community College
https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/commencement/58Commencement/index.html
One CUNY school, the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, will hold its commencement in December 2023 at The Times Center, owing to the school’s typical academic program length of three semesters.
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