Wesleyan’s 193rd Commencement Ceremony is on Sunday, May 25, 2025 at 11 a.m. Faculty and Undergraduates assemble on the top of Foss Hill at 10 a.m. The ceremony will take place on Andrus Field in the center of campus, rain or shine, and will last approximately 2½ hours. The ceremony may also be viewed online.

At Commencement, we will be recognizing three inspiring leaders with honorary degrees: Ian Bassin ’98, Executive Director of Protect Democracy, who will also deliver the Commencement address; Lael Brainard ’83, P’22, who served as director of the National Economic Council under President Joe Biden;and Percival Everett, celebrated author and Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California.

All are welcome to join us for Reunion + Commencement Weekend, May 22–25—three days of programming and events celebrating our reunion alumni and graduating students! Families of graduating students attending only the Sunday Commencement Ceremony do not need to register or check in for the weekend. Those attending Friday and Saturday activities or wish to purchase meal tickets should register by May 12. 

2025 Commencement Ceremony Live Broadcast
10:45 a.m. EDT, May 25

Join us here at 10:45 a.m. EDT on May 25 to view the Commencement Ceremony live.

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Commencement Speakers

Photo courtesy of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Ian Bassin ’98

Ian Bassin is co-founder and Executive Director of Protect Democracy. He previously served as Associate White House Counsel under President Obama, where in addition to counseling the President and senior White House staff on administrative and constitutional law, he worked to ensure that executive branch officials complied with the laws, rules and norms that protect the fundamentally democratic nature of our government. A recipient of a 2023 MacArthur Fellowship and the Skoll Award for Social Innovation, he has repeatedly been named among the 500 most influential people in Washington by Washingtonian Magazine.

READ BASSIN'S FULL BIO

Lael Brainard ’83, P’22

Lael Brainard has served as the 14th Director of the National Economic Council, Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, and Undersecretary of the Treasury. With extensive senior leadership experience in macro, fiscal, and monetary policymaking, Brainard has contributed to the successful resolution of several financial crises, including the Asian financial crisis, Euro Area Crisis, COVID-19 crisis, 2023 debt limit impasse, and U.S. regional banking crisis. The New York Times has described Brainard as “America’s top financial diplomat” for her high-level negotiations with China and Europe.

READ BRAINARD'S FULL BIO
Photo by Michael Avedon

Percival Everett

Percival Everett is the author of over thirty books, including The Trees (shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize and winner of the 2022 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize), Erasure (adapted into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction), and most recently the bestseller James (shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, won the 2024 National Book Award, and was a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Fiction). Everett has received the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and the PEN Center USA Award for Fiction and has been a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

READ EVERETT'S FULL BIO

Michael S. Roth '78

Michael S. Roth '78 became the 16th president of Wesleyan University on July 1, 2007. A professor in history and the humanities, he continues to teach undergraduate courses and is known as a historian, curator, author, and public advocate for liberal education.

Read the President's full bio