Eastern to graduate more than 1,000 undergraduates and graduate students this May

2 ceremonies, May 17 and 20

by Ed Osborn

Willimantic, CT (05/12/2025) — Eastern Connecticut State University will graduate more than 900 undergraduates on May 20 in Hartford and upwards of 100 graduate students on May 17 on the Eastern campus. Both ceremonies will stream live on YouTube.

Graduate Ceremony

On Saturday, May 17, 98 graduate students in secondary education, elementary education, management, accounting, and early childhood education will receive Master of Science degrees at the Graduate Commencement Exercises. Held in the Concert Hall of the Fine Arts Instructional Center, the ceremony begins at 11 a.m. and will feature the traditional hooding ceremony for the graduating students.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong will give the Graduate Commencement Address and will also be the inaugural recipient of Eastern's Distinguished Public Service Award. Now in his second term, Tong previously practiced as a litigator for 18 years and was a member of the Connecticut General Assembly for 12 years. He is the first Asian American elected to statewide office in Connecticut and the first Chinese American to be elected attorney general in the United States.

In addition to family and friends, graduating master's degree candidates will be cheered on by the graduate faculty. Speakers will also include Eastern President Karim Ismaili; Sophia Jappinen, representing the Board of Regents; Adam Joseph, vice chancellor of external affairs for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System; alumna Ellen Lang '81; and Shellena Pitterson M'25, who will give remarks on behalf of the graduate students.

Undergraduate Ceremony

On Tuesday, May 20, more than 900 undergraduate students in Eastern's School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education and Professional Studies will receive bachelor's degrees at the 135th Undergraduate Commencement Exercises at the XL Center in Hartford. The student processional begins at 3 p.m., and the formal ceremony begins at 3:30 p.m.

Mary Grant, president of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, will give the commencement address, and will also receive an honorary degree from Eastern during the ceremony. Grant is a long-time advocate of the liberal arts, having also previously been president of her alma mater, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and chancellor of the University of North Carolina-Ashville, both public liberal arts colleges similar to Eastern.

Other speakers at the undergraduate commencement exercises include Marty Guay, chair of the Board of Regents, Aynsley Diamond, associate vice president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System, Eastern President Ismaili, and senior class president Felishka Ramirez '25, who will present the senior class gift and give remarks on behalf of the senior class.

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Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut's public liberal arts university, serving upwards of 4,000 students annually on its Willimantic campus. A residential campus offering 41 majors and 68 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal arts foundation grounded in a variety of applied learning opportunities. Ranked among the top 25 public institutions in the North by U.S. News & World Report in its 2024-25 Best Colleges ratings, Eastern has also been awarded 'Green Campus' status by the Princeton Review 15 years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.

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