Commencement 2025

Image of Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, this year's Commencement Speaker

Photo by Josué Azor

Bard Announces This Year’s Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipients

The Commencement address will be given by former Prime Minister of Haiti (2008–09) and President/Founder of Fondation Connaissance et Liberté (Foundation for Knowledge and Liberty, or FOKAL) Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, who is also a professor at Université Quisqueya in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Honorary degrees will be awarded to Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, lawyer Jack Arthur Blum ’62, artist and performer Justin Vivian Bond, philanthropist and art collector Maja Hoffmann, academic and journalist Josef Joffe, photographer Cindy Sherman, and endocrinologist Yaron Tomer.

More About Honorary Degree Recipients →

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Download the Commencement invitation today!

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Photo by Karl Rabe

Bard College Will Hold Its 165th Commencement on Saturday, May 24, 2025

Join us!

We look forward to welcoming you for an entire weekend of celebration. Check out this year’s schedule here. If you have any questions about the weekend, please review the FAQs page or contact the Office of Special Events at [email protected].

Highlights Include

- A Commencement concert with The Orchestra Now (TŌN) on Friday evening
- The Bard College Awards, an annual event celebrating the exceptional achievements of Bard alumni/ae and friends of the College
- Senior Project Exhibitions in photography and studio arts
- A post-commencement barbecue on the lawn of Blithewood
- Dancing and fireworks

Graduates in red standing and celebrating.

Register Now

We look forward to celebrating this year’s graduates at Bard College’s 165th Commencement on May 24.

A Few Things to Note

- There are no tickets to Commencement. Seating is first come, first served. The tent opens at 1 pm. The procession begins at 2:30 pm.
- We ask that you indicate the number of guests in your party in the registration form so we can get an estimated number of attendees (seats are not guaranteed).
- To provide the most enjoyable experience for all our guests, we request limiting each party to six.
- Bring your favorite water bottle! Bottle filling stations are positioned around the perimeter of the Commencement tent and offer free water refills.
- Both Commencement and the barbecue are under grand tents, which are not climate controlled. Guests who prefer to watch Commencement in an air-conditioned environment are encouraged to take advantage of livestreaming locations on campus.
- Please bring comfortable walking shoes. Buses will be running campus loops and a limited number of accessibility golf carts will be available to shuttle those needing assistance, but most guests walk.
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Questions? Email [email protected].