Here's Every Columbia 2025 Class Day Speaker We Know (So Far)
Graduation season is right around the corner in May and with it comes the special school-specific celebrations known as Class Days or school ceremonies. #Columbia2025!
Schools across Columbia will host ceremonies and speakers of their own. We're keeping track of those speakers, as they are announced, in the running list below.
This list will be updated as we hear more throughout April and May!
Andrés Jaque
Andrés Jaque, dean and professor at Columbia GSAPP, will speak at the school's ceremony on Saturday, May 17 at 5:45 PM on South Lawn.
Jamie Kern Lima
Jamie Kern Lima (BUS'04), New York Times best-selling author and co-founder of IT Cosmetics, California, will speak at the MBA and MS Recognition ceremony at 8:00 AM, and the EMBA and PhD Recognition ceremony at 2:30 PM on Saturday, May 17 on South Lawn.
Jodi Kantor
Jodi Kantor (CC’96), best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, will speak at Columbia College Class Day on Tuesday, May 20 at 8:00 AM on South Lawn.
Karen P. West
Karen P. West, president and CEO, American Dental Education Association, will address the predoctoral graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 22 at 10:30 AM at The Armory (216 Fort Washington Ave).
Jennifer Yu Cheng
Jennifer Yu Cheng (SEAS'03), group president and deputy vice chairwoman of CTF Education Group and the founder of JYC Girls Impact Foundation and the FutureGen Girls Foundation, will speak at Engineering's undergraduate ceremony on Monday, May 19 at 1:00 PM on South Lawn.
Harsh Jain
Harsh Jain (BUS'14), CEO and co-founder of Dream Sports, India’s leading sports technology company, will speak at Engineering's graduate student ceremony on Monday, May 19 at 5:15 PM on South Lawn.
Alicia Graf Mack
Alicia Graf Mack (GS'03), acclaimed dancer, scholar, educator, and Artistic Director designate of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, will deliver the keynote address at GS Class Day on Monday, May 19 at 8:00 AM on South Lawn.
Rajiv J. Shah
Rajiv J. Shah, president of The Rockefeller Foundation, will deliver the keynote address at SIPA’s graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 20 at 3:00 PM at Baker Athletics Complex (505 West 218th Street).
Clare Huntington
Clare Huntington (LAW'96), Barbara Aronstein Black Professor of Law, will receive this year’s Willis L.M. Reese Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Huntington, a nationally recognized expert in family law and poverty law, will speak at the school's ceremony on Sunday, May 18 at 4:15 PM on South Lawn.
Steve Bullock
Steve Bullock (LAW'94), former Governor of Montana, will deliver the keynote address at the Law School's ceremony on Sunday, May 18 at 4:15 PM on South Lawn.
Vivek Murthy
Vivek Murthy, former U.S. Surgeon General, will deliver the keynote address at the Mailman Class Day celebration and will also receive the school’s Visionary Leadership Award on Tuesday, May 20 at 4:00 PM at The Armory (216 Fort Washington Ave).
Mary Woolley
Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America, will speak at Nursing's ceremony on Tuesday, May 20 at 10:00 AM at The Armory (216 Fort Washington Ave).
Brian Lehrer
Brian Lehrer, host of The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC, New York Public Radio, will speak at Journalism's ceremony on Wednesday, May 21 at 2:30 PM at Roone Arledge Auditorium in Alfred Lerner Hall.
Sim Segal
Sim Segal, who has led the M.S. in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program as its founder and director since 2014, will speak at the School of Professional Studies' morning ceremony on Friday, May 16 at 10:30 AM on South Lawn.
Basil Smikle Jr.
Basil Smikle Jr., who joined SPS last year as a professor of practice and director of the M.S. in Nonprofit Management program, will speak at the School of Professional Studies' afternoon ceremony on Friday, May 16 at 3:00 PM on South Lawn.
Desmond Patton
Desmond Patton, Brian and Randi Schwartz University Professor and PIK University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, will speak at the School of Social Work's ceremony on Tuesday, May 20 at 10:30 AM at Baker Athletics Complex (505 West 218th Street).