Commencement & Reunion 2019
As Brown celebrates Commencement and Reunion Weekend 2019 from May 24 to 26, look no further for complete news, photo, video and social media coverage throughout the festivities.
Learn about the speakers, schedule, transportation and parking options, and the location of diploma ceremonies.
No matter how much time has passed, Brown welcomes you back with open arms.
Many thousands of Class of 2019 graduates and alumni from as early as the Class of 1939 took part in the annual celebration, a centuries-long University tradition.
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Honoring a treasured Brown tradition, two senior orators addressed the Class of 2019 to offer congratulations and inspiration to their fellow graduates.
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In her annual Commencement address, Brown University President Christina Paxson asked graduating seniors to take on the most complex of challenges, from economic inequality to climate change.
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In Baccalaureate remarks punctuated by a lot of laughter, the Class of 2001 graduate and acclaimed actor cited Brown as “the cornerstone of his life and career.”
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Video Highlights
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“You’re Brunonians — you rise to challenges… Every single one of you, no matter where you’re headed next, has a role to play. And I know you will.” — Brown President Christina Paxson
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The Commencement Procession, one of Brown’s greatest and oldest traditions, brings together the entire Brown community in a festive and joyous celebration of this year’s graduating class.
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Brown University kicked off Commencement and Reunion Weekend 2019 with its signature social event—Campus Dance.
Commencement Addresses
Acclaimed actor, writer and director John Krasinski, a Brown Class of 2001 graduate, delivers the Baccalaureate address to the University’s undergraduate Class of 2019 on Saturday afternoon in the Meeting House of the First Baptist Church in America.
Speaking at Brown University’s College Ceremony on Sunday, May 26, Brown President Christina Paxson commended graduating seniors for their change-making spirit and urged them to lead the way in addressing economic inequality and other major challenges facing society.
Jen Thum ’19 Ph.D. addressed graduates and guests at the Doctoral Ceremony on Pembroke Field during Brown University’s 251st Commencement, delivering an address titled “Tell Me More.”
Eunice Gonzalez-Sierra ’19 MAT, addressed graduates and guests at the Master’s Ceremony in Meehan Auditorium during Brown University’s 251st Commencement, delivering an address titled “Harvesting the Fruit of Our Labor.”
Jonathan Staloff ’14, ’19 Sc.M., ’19 M.D., a member of the first graduating class of the Primary Care Population Medicine dual-degree program at the Warren Alpert Medical School, addressed his classmates on Sunday, May 26, at the First Unitarian Church with remarks titled “What Does It Mean to Heal?”
Ruth Miller ’19, one of two graduating seniors chosen as orators for Brown University’s 251st Commencement, delivered an address titled “How to Be a Warrior: An Argument for Radical Compassion.”
Patricia Rodarte ’19, one of two graduating seniors chosen as orators for Brown University’s 251st Commencement, delivered an address titled “On Crossing Borders.”
Scenes from the Weekend
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In the days before Commencement and Reunion, members of Brown’s Facilities Management team put the finishing touches on campus preparations, including the Class of 2019 sign over the steps of Sayles Hall.
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Alumni from across the globe began to arrive on campus for Reunion beginning on Friday, May 24.
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Bruno welcomed alumni as they arrived on campus for Reunion.
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Student workers were eager to greet alumni from across the globe.
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Senior orator Ruth Miller, left, poses with Anne Marie Ponte from the Brown Center for Students of Color at the Unity Celebration.
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The College Green was transformed into an outdoor ballroom with a giant dance floor.
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The Duke Belaire Orchestra provided the swinging sounds.
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Alumni and graduates danced and celebrated on Simmons Quad until the wee hours.
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The bash concluded with a festive Senior Sing at midnight on the steps of Sayles Hall.
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Seniors sang Brown's alma mater and posed for a joyous 360-degree video.
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Dance program founder Julie Adams Strandberg guided forum attendees through a look back at five decades of dance at Brown and the social, political and cultural context of this milestone anniversary.
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Nia Sanders is a current senior at Brown concentrating in computer science and performance studies. The choreographer, dancer and aspiring software engineer performed “Rainbow Etude” at a forum exploring 50 years of dance at Brown.
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At a forum titled “Reflections on the Open Curriculum,” current faculty who are alumni of Brown discussed their journeys through the curriculum and its impact on their education at Brown and their later lives.
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Jennifer Richeson, a Class of 1994 graduate and professor of psychology at Yale University, explored “The Promises and Perils of Diversity” in a forum moderated by Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America director Tricia Rose.
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Kaela Lynch, who graduated with a degree in health and human biology on Sunday, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army by her proud father, Colonel Lynch, during the Graduating Veterans Recognition and Commissioning Ceremony.
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New U.S. Army second lieutenants Kaela Lynch and William Summers spoke to friends, family and special guests about the power of change during the ceremony.
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Navy veteran Davin Lewis spoke about the impressive and diverse group of student veterans he has had the opportunity to meet while at Brown.
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Graduating seniors convened under Faunce Arch, marched around the College Green and processed to the First Baptist Church in America for Brown's 2019 Baccalaureate service.
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Members of the Class of 2019 shared a celebratory moment as they prepared to enter the First Baptist Church in America for Brown's 2019 Baccalaureate service.
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The lion dance is a well-loved part of the procession to the Baccalaureate service.
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Actor, writer and director John Krasinski, a Brown Class of 2001 alumnus, joined University President Christina Paxson in the Baccalaureate procession.
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University Chaplain Janet Cooper Nelson, Baccalaureate speaker John Krasinski, Brown President Christina Paxson and other senior leaders greeted graduates as they entered the church before the ceremony.
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In Baccalaureate remarks punctuated by a lot of laughter, the Class of 2001 graduate and acclaimed actor cited Brown as “the cornerstone of his life and career.”
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The Baccalaureate ceremony tradition during each Commencement and Reunion Weekend honors the degree candidates’ achievements and expresses thanks through prayers, texts, dances and songs that represent the many spiritual traditions within the University community.
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Following the procession to the First Baptist Church of America, this year’s ceremony included prayers of worship and thanks from Native American, Buddhist, Hindu, African ancestral, Muslim, Jewish and Christian traditions, as well as gospel music, a capella singing, Taiko and Malian drumming, and a Chinese lion dance.
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Class of 2019 degree candidates joined in song during the service.
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Open to recent graduates and Reunion classes from throughout the decades, Alumni Field Day offered Brown alumni and their families the chance to connect.
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Alumni Field Day offered everything from gourmet food trucks to kickball and Frisbee games to musical performances.
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Young alumni shared a light moment as they listened to a Calypso band.
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Alumni made new friends and reconnected with their classmates during Alumni Field Day.
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The weather was warm and spirits were high during Alumni Field Day.
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Honorary degree recipient Sheryl Brissett Chapman, advocate and nonprofit innovator.
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Honorary degree recipient Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker.
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Honorary degree recipient John Krasinski, actor, writer and director.
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Honorary degree recipient Jennifer Anne Richeson, social scientist and thought leader.
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Honorary degree recipient David M. Rubenstein, global business leader and patriotic philanthropist.
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Honorary degree recipients Joan Wernig Sorensen, fundraising consultant and philanthropist, and E. Paul Sorensen, business leader and philanthropist.
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Class of 1976 Brown graduate and Chancellor Emeritus Tom Tisch (podium, left) accepted the Susan Colver Rosenberger Medal of Honor, the highest honor from the Brown faculty, at Commencement 2019. Faculty Executive Committee chair Ross Cheit presented the award to Tisch.
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Geronimo Garcia, Shanze Tahir, Attayah Douglas, Jazmin Isabel Piche Cifuentes and Andy M. T. Pham (left to right) led the Class of 2019 through the Van Wickle Gates at Sunday morning’s procession.
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Teresa Gagnon Mellone, here with Brown President Christina Paxson, was the oldest alumna to participate in the procession through the Van Wickle Gates. She visited Brown with family to celebrate her 80th Reunion.
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Graduates in the procession snapped selfies with actor and director John Krasinski, a 2001 Brown graduate and the recipient of an honorary degree.
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As graduating seniors made their way down College Street, alumni lining the procession route offered high fives and loud cheers.
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Brown’s unique “inversion” tradition during the procession allowed alumni to come face to face with graduating seniors.
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Brown alumni traveled to Providence from across the globe to participate in the procession.
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At the College Ceremony, University President Christina Paxson urged the undergraduate Class of 2019 to “drive change that improves your lives and betters the world around you.”
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Many graduates used their mortarboard hats to express their individuality on Commencement day.
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The College Ceremony provided Brown’s graduating seniors with a relatively quiet moment to reflect on their accomplishments amid the joyous chaos and cacophony of Commencement.
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Doctoral candidates embraced before being hooded on Commencement day.
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Eunice Gonzalez-Sierra addressed her classmates during the master's degree ceremony in Meehan Auditorium.
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Students celebrated Brown's largest-ever class of master's graduates.
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New Ph.D. graduates marched through the Van Wickle Gates.
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Master's students celebrated with friends.
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Andrew Campbell, dean of the graduate school, addressed the doctoral ceremony on Pembroke Field.
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Sharona Gordon, a 1994 Brown Ph.D. graduate, received the Graduate School's Horace Mann Medal.
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A happy student celebrated her degree at the master's ceremony.
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Jonathan Staloff, who earned a combined medical degree in primary care and a master's in population health, addressed the graduation ceremony of the Warren Alpert Medical School.
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Newly graduated physicians from the Warren Alpert Medical School snapped a group selfie on the procession route.
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Ruth Miller, one of two student orators, gave a speech entitled "How to Be a Warrior: An Argument for Radical Compassion."
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In an address titled, “On Crossing Borders,” Patricia Rodarte reflected on her experience growing up in El Paso, Texas, which has important and enriching ties with its sister city across the U.S./Mexico border, Ciudad Juarez.
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The University Ceremony brought together Class of 2019 graduates from all of Brown's undergraduate, graduate and medical school programs.
More News
Doctoral students, along with the largest-ever classes of Brown master’s and medical school graduates, celebrated their success on College Hill during Commencement and Reunion Weekend.
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The Rosenberger Medal has been awarded just 31 times since its establishment in 1919 to a distinguished group of individuals who include among them Nobel laureates, university presidents and chancellors, and esteemed public servants.
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News and Events
Brown awards seven honorary doctorates
During its 251st Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 26, Brown University bestowed honorary degrees on a diverse group of business and community leaders, scholars and artists.
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News and Events
Ceremony honors new military officers, graduating veterans
On a weekend that marks graduations, reunions and military sacrifice, the University honored two new officers, a military promotion and seven graduating veterans.
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This year’s forums explored everything from cancer research and digital health innovations to media and political engagement, the 1968 Black Student Walkout at Brown, and patriotic philanthropy.
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Science and Technology
Student-designed sundial sculpture dedicated during Commencement and Reunion
As alumni returned to campus and thousands of new graduates prepared to receive their degrees and begin the next chapter of their lives, the Brown community dedicated a student-designed sundial sculpture named ‘Infinite Possibility.’
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In the six months since it opened its doors, the new Watson Institute building has become a prime destination on campus and supported an equally ambitious programmatic expansion underway at the institute.
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At its 251st Commencement on Sunday, May 26, Brown University will confer a total of 2,954 degrees in all categories — undergraduate, graduate, medical and honorary.
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News and Events
Brown’s 251st Commencement set for Sunday, May 26
Sunday's procession and University Ceremony on the College Green will cap Brown's three-day celebration of Commencement and Reunion Weekend 2019.
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News and Events
Corporation approves 2019 degree candidates, elects new members
During its annual Commencement week meeting, the University's governing body also approved the awarding of 2,795 degrees at Sunday's ceremonies.
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In keeping with a Brown tradition that has stood for two and a half centuries, seniors Ruth Miller and Patricia Rodarte will deliver Commencement speeches on Sunday, May 26.
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As Brown celebrates Commencement 2019 on Sunday, May 26, Jen Thum and Eunice Gonzalez-Sierra will address their fellow graduates in separate Ph.D. and master’s ceremonies on College Hill.
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News and Events
Brown to confer seven honorary degrees at Commencement 2019
Brown University will bestow honorary degrees on a diverse group of business and community leaders, scholars and artists during its 251st Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 26.
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Who We Are: The Class of 2019
What happens between the passages in and out of the Van Wickle Gates? We can’t tell you about every member of the Class of 2019, but courtesy of Brown Alumni Magazine, here are seven of them: where they come from, where they are going, and how they found their way.
#brown2019 on Social
Commencement and Reunion Weekend is a uniquely Brown event, where we all come together to celebrate what it means to be part of the Brown family. Share your weekend with #Brown2019, #BrownReunion and #CampusDance
Learn about the speakers, schedule, transportation and parking options, and the location of diploma ceremonies.
No matter how much time has passed, Brown welcomes you back with open arms.