195^th Colby College Commencement

President David A. Greene will present bachelor of arts degrees to approximately 500 seniors at Colby College's 195^th Commencement Sunday, May 22. The ceremony, which is open to the public, will begin at 10 a.m. in front of Miller Library and will be webcast at colby.edu.

Members of the Class of 2016 came to Colby from 31 states and 31 countries. The class includes 51 members of Phi Beta Kappa, a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, three Fulbright teaching assistants, and two Davis Projects for Peace grant winners. Approximately two thirds of the class studied abroad, traveling to more than 40 countries. The majority of graduates have completed internships and significant research, and they will go on to a broad range of careers and to graduate or professional schools to study law, education, finance, medicine, nonprofit leadership, and other disciplines.

Internet pioneer and author Arianna Huffington, cofounder of the Huffington Post, will deliver the commencement address. Sharing the lectern with Huffington will be senior class speaker Brendan Leonard, a theater and dance and English double major from Rowley, Mass. Leonard — who interned for the Public Theater in New York, studied acting in Ireland, and created experimental performance pieces — was chosen by vote of the senior class.

The only student award acknowledged at commencement, Colby's Condon Medal for engaged citizenship, goes to Bonnie Maldonado, from Bronx, N.Y. Maldonado, a Posse Scholar and an American studies major and women's, gender, and sexuality studies and Italian double minor, was hailed by Greene last month as "a scholar, an activist, and a leader." After graduation she will serve as a Coro Fellow in a prestigious leadership development program.

Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama and an architect of the administration's legislative strategy, will deliver remarks to Colby seniors at baccalaureate on Saturday, May 21. Baccalaureate, an event open only to graduating seniors, celebrates graduates' ties to the College and serves as an important moment for the faculty, administration, and trustees to acknowledge their contributions.

Along with Jarrett and Huffington, honorary degree recipients include Edwin T. Liu, president and CEO of Jackson Laboratories, and Lars Peter Hansen, a Nobel Memorial Prize-winning economist and expert in economic dynamics.

Seating for commencement is limited. Standing room on the lawns at the rear and along the sides of the venue is open to the public. Information about parking and traffic is in the FAQ section of Colby's commencement website. If inclement weather necessitates moving the ceremony to the Harold Alfond Athletic Center, tickets will be required for admission to Wadsworth Gymnasium, where the ceremony would take place. Individuals without tickets may watch live video on a large screen in the field house.

More information about commencement is available at colby.edu/commencement.