Commencement Archives | Colgate University

Colgate’s 204th commencement was held May 18, 2025. The keynote address was delivered by Julianne Smith, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO.

Class of 2025 Colgate University graduates stand outside during the commencement ceremony

Colgate’s 203rd commencement was held May 19, 2024. The keynote address was delivered by Bill Browder, founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, and author of Red Notice.

Group of 2024 Colgate graduates pose as someone takes a picture

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Graduates of Colgate's 203rd Commencement Encouraged to Draw From Their Bravery and Commit to a Cause

Colgate’s 202nd commencement was held May 21, 2023. The keynote address was delivered by jazz trumpet legend Wynton Marsalis, the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, director of the Jazz Studies Program at the Juilliard School, and president of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation.

A group of graduates toss their caps into the air as they stand on Willow Path

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Colgate Celebrates 202nd Commencement

Colgate’s 201st commencement was held May 22, 2022. The keynote address was delivered by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, New York Times critic at large, and co-host of the podcast Still Processing, Wesley Morris.

Class of 2022 graduates assemble for ceremony

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Colgate Celebrates 201st Commencement

Colgate’s 200th commencement was held May 9, 2021. The keynote address was delivered by Ambassador Samantha Power.

Following an academic year interrupted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, commencement for the Class of 2020 was unprecedented in Colgate history.

Conferral of Degrees Ceremony, Sunday, May 17, 2020

President Brian Casey conferred the degrees of the graduating Class of 2020 in a virtual ceremony featuring the names and submitted photos of the graduates.

Messages of Support from Around the Colgate Community

Colgate’s 198th commencement was held May 19, 2019. The keynote address was delivered by U.S Representative Antonio Delgado ’99.

Students in caps and gowns walk for commencement

Colgate’s 197th commencement was held May 20, 2018. The keynote address was delivered by Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Student shakes hand of University president as she receives her diploma

Colgate’s 197th commencement was held May 21, 2017. The keynote address was delivered by Claudia Rankine, nationally renowned poet and recipient of the 2016 MacArthur “Genius” Grant.

Student in cap and gown wreathed in flowers, beaming

Colgate’s 195th commencement was held May 15, 2016. The keynote address was delivered by Robert D. Manfred Jr. P’16, the commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Student in cap and gown smiles cheekily at the camera

Colgate’s 194th commencement was held May 17, 2015. The keynote address was delivered by Eddie S. Glaude Jr., the William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African American studies and the chair of the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University.

Student in cap and gown laughs during speaker’s remarks