Video highlights from Sunday

From a spirited procession and senior orations to the College Ceremony and the official conferral of degrees, the final day of Brown’s Commencement and Reunion Weekend 2025 was as exciting as the first two. Highlights are here courtesy of Brown video producers Oliver Scampoli and Anthony Saccoccia.

Graduation grooves: Jon Batiste performs spontaneous, stirring set for Brown’s Class of 2025 

While speaking duties at Brown Commencement ceremonies are reserved predominantly for graduates, per two-and-a-half centuries of tradition, sometimes the moment just calls for the opportunity to hear from one of the year’s accomplished honorary degree recipients.

That was the case on Sunday, May 25, when Brown President Christina H. Paxson invited seven-time Grammy and Academy Award-winning singer, songwriter and composer Jon Batiste to grace graduates with an impromptu performance at the University Ceremony. Batiste is among the most prolific and accomplished contemporary musicians globally, and graduates longingly chanted “sign, sing, sing” when Batiste accepted his honorary doctor of music earlier in the ceremony — and ultimately, he granted their wish.

In a brief set for the Class of 2025, Batiste kicked off his performance on a red melodica, playfully piping the opening bar of “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” followed by the University’s official fight song, “Ever True to Brown.” He then moved to a grand piano on the Commencement stage and dazzled graduates with his fancy, fast keywork as he sang a resounding rendition of the freedom song “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ’Round.”

Graduates, families, faculty and staff cheered throughout the performance and offered a sustained standing ovation to Batiste as Brown’s 2025 Commencement officially came to a close.

Senior orators urge Class of 2025 to approach life after Brown with authenticity, openness, fearlessness

In separate Commencement addresses on the College Green, in front of thousands of teachers, mentors, friends, family members and guests, senior orators Aliza Kopans and Nkéke Harris celebrated the Class of 2025’s resilience, growth and capacity for change. Their addresses marked a time-honored Brown tradition of lifting student voices at Commencement.

Both speakers encouraged graduates to approach life after Brown with authenticity, openness, hope and fearlessness.

Kopans, a concentrator in public health, reflected on the memories and things she has witnessed on the College Green, which she sees as a microcosm of Brown’s collaborative ethos, joy and sense of community.

“It is here we have formed friendships that will blossom far beyond today — people who challenge our views and celebrate our wins, patch us up when we fall, and love us even when we’re not at our best,” Kopans told her graduating classmates on Sunday, May 25. “Rooted in support, the communities we’ve created here strengthen our resilience, perseverance and well-being.”

Harris, a member of Brown’s second graduating cohort in critical Native American and Indigenous studies, reflected on their heritage as a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe and on their journey over the last four years to overcome self-doubt that stifled their true spirit within.

“In these four years, I have seen what it means to be united in all of our glorious differences and humble sameness,” Harris said. “In learning alongside and from the students and the faculty and the staff of this university, I found brightness once again.”

Read the full story on the News from Brown website...

Brown confers honorary doctorates on seven distinguished leaders

At its 257th Commencement on Sunday, May 25, Brown University conferred honorary doctorates on seven candidates who have achieved great distinction in a variety of fields. The recipients included:

• Jon Batiste — Award-winning musician
• Allyson Felix — Olympic gold medalist
• Eileen Hayes — Social services leader
• Suleika Jaouad — Author and artist
• William Kentridge — Artist
• Timothy Snyder — Historian
• Kevin Young — Award-winning poet

Read the full story on the News from Brown website…

Brown’s newest graduates encouraged to lead with love, hope and compassion

In the days approaching Brown’s 257^th Commencement and Reunion Weekend, University President Christina H. Paxson wanted to hear from the soon-to-be college graduates. What, she wondered, did they love most about their time at Brown?

So she asked — and students’ answers did not disappoint. Double chocolate muffins from the Blue Room. Love of the local community. Campus amenities ranging from the College Green to the pool in the Nelson Fitness Center. Brown’s boundless student clubs and organizations. Research opportunities, the Open Curriculum and the diversity of thought on campus. 

“But not surprisingly, many of you talked about the people you’ve met who have made Brown feel like home,” Paxson said. “Your friends, especially. Your professors. The Brown staff members who support you every day.”

In her Commencement address at the College Ceremony on Sunday, May 25, Paxson returned that love. 

Before officially conferring 1,904 bachelor’s degrees upon the undergraduate Class of 2025 gathered on the grounds of the First Baptist Church in America, she told them why she — and everyone else at Brown — will miss them, and why they’re so excited for what lies ahead for the new graduates.

“We love you because you achieve the highest standards of excellence in all you do, and you support your peers so they can do the same,” Paxson said. 

Read the full story on the News from Brown website…

Outward bound: Van Wickle Gates swing open in send-off to Class of 2025

As the Commencement and Reunion procession made its way from the Quiet Green to the First Baptist Church in America on Sunday morning, Brown University’s iconic Van Wickle Gates swung open — a tradition reserved for only two moments during each student’s time at Brown. Upon arrival, the gates welcome incoming students to the University. On Commencement day, they open outward, symbolically sending new graduates into the world. For the Class of 2025, the walk through the gates and down College Street marked not just the close of their time on College Hill, but the beginning of their newest adventures.

33 years apart, mother and son celebrate shared path at Brown

Class of 2025 graduate Alejandro Jackson, a computer science concentrator, is marking a milestone more than three decades in the making. 

Jackson’s mother, Dr. Agueda Hernandez, earned her bachelor’s and medical degrees from Brown in 1992 and 1996, respectively. Visiting from Miami for Commencement and Reunion Weekend, Hernandez stood on campus 33 years to the day after her own Brown graduation, this time to celebrate her son.

“It’s hard to express the fullness of emotion — my heart is flooded,” said Hernandez, who said she was the first person in her family to attend college. “It’s amazing to have this full-circle moment. I’m super proud and profoundly grateful.”

Commencement and Reunion Weekend at Brown was already a big event in his mom’s life. Now, it will be even more special, Jackson said. 

“We have shared the same Intro to Biology professor (Kenneth Miller), and we’ve shared Brown culture and traditions such as singing the fight song together, talking about the legend of Josiah Carberry, and our love for Funk Nite,” he said.  “It’s been unbelievably joyous and fulfilling. This is the culmination of all the work my family has put in to get me here.”

Jackson may be leaving Providence, but his educational journey hasn’t ended. He will soon move to Paris to pursue a master’s degree in quantum informatics at La Sorbonne.

A cap, a gown, a passport and three visas: Graduating senior earns global reporting trip

As Brown’s newest graduates prepare for their journeys beyond Providence, one member of the Class of 2025 is readying for the trip of a lifetime: An international reporting assignment with Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof.

Sofia Barnett, who concentrated in history and English nonfiction writing, won Kristof’s annual essay contest, in which he selects a graduating student to join him on assignment.

Barnett will spend two weeks in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana, reporting on the impact of funding cuts to the United States Agency for International Development especially as it relates to women’s education and access to schooling for girls. She leaves in six days. 

“It all feels pretty surreal,” Barnett said. “Even when I found out that I won the trip, I was shocked and overjoyed, but not really sure how to calibrate that as reality. But now that it's in a week, it's unavoidably real, and I'm very excited.” 

As a student, Barnett served as managing editor of the Brown Journal of History and as an editor at the Brown Daily Herald. She credits her education at Brown, especially the mentorship of Professor of History and Humanities Holly Case, with helping her think critically across cultures and prepare for ethical reporting.

At Commencement, with her trip set to begin on June 2, Barnett is still letting the experience sink in. 

“Both of these moments, they feel like the culmination of everything I've worked for over the past four years,” she said. 

A banner year for Brown's senior class marshals

Ten members of the Class of 2025 led nearly 2,000 of their peers on a symbolic walk — not just through the Van Wickle Gates, but into their futures that lie beyond those gates.

Selected as this year’s senior class marshals, the group carried the Class of 2025 banner in the Commencement procession on Sunday, May 25, introducing Brown’s newest graduates as they marched down College Street lined by thousands of boisterous alumni, faculty, family and friends.

Andrew Sojka, who earned his bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and served as president of the Black Pre-Med Society at Brown, said he felt nothing but pride and gratitude as he held the class banner high for all to see. 

“It’s a really exciting opportunity for all of us to represent our class and carry the legacy of 2025 going forward,” Sojka said. 

Fellow graduate Ben Hokenson, who double-concentrated in entrepreneurship and international and public affairs, echoed Sojka’s sentiments. 

“It’s a huge honor,” Hokenson said. “The marshal award itself is something I really resonate with. I think it reflects the University's values, and I was so excited to take on the role this year.”

Doctoral Ceremony speaker: ‘Be strategically strange’

Addressing 138 new Brown doctoral graduates on Sunday, Melaine Ferdinand-King noted that the journey toward a Ph.D. often involves surprising twists, turns and changes of plan. The resilience and creativity required to navigate that journey will serve graduates well in their future lives and careers.

“The most valuable thing I learned during my doctoral journey wasn’t one specific theory or method,” said Ferdinand-King, who received her Ph.D. in Africana studies. “It was the process through which I found the capacity to stay present with uncertainty, to follow questions rather than to rush to answers, to build intellectual communities rather than intellectual monuments.”

She called on her peers to not wall themselves off, but to apply what they’ve learned to the world around them.

“The most pressing challenges of our time — climate change, social inequality, war and technological advancement — demand thinkers who can move fluidly across these domains, those who can translate specialized knowledge into public wisdom,” Ferdinand-King said. 

Doing so, she added, will require graduates to defy tradition.

“Let’s carry with us not just the credential we’ve rightfully earned, but the courage to be strategically strange, to follow unconventional paths, and the celestial navigation that will guide us toward our collective callings,” she said. “The world desperately needs what we know, but even more, it needs who we are and what we care about.

“Now go forth,” she concluded, “and make the history we never imagined.”

Held on Pembroke Field, the Doctoral Ceremony also included the presentation of the Horace Mann Medal, presented by the Graduate School to a graduate who has made major contributions to their field. This year’s award went to William J. Martin, who earned his Brown Ph.D. in experimental psychology in 1995. Martin’s work was critical for establishing the role of cannabinoid receptors as key regulators of pain transmission and perception in the brain.

Love was in the air at the Warren Alpert Medical School ceremony

For Alisa Pugacheva, the epiphany came well into her medical school experience: love, in various forms, is key to fulfillment in a career that can be physically, intellectually and emotionally demanding.

Pugacheva, who was selected by her peers to speak at the weekend’s Warren Alpert Medical School ceremony, said her marriage this month inspired her to contemplate the meaning of love “on the macro and micro scale.” She shared her revelation as one of the 144 students earning M.D.s on Sunday at the First Unitarian Church.

Pugacheva wasn’t referring to romance, but to an appreciation of patients, colleagues, mentors and the work of doctoring.

“When you are honest, kind [and] present, you can do the best thing, which is truly love the work,” she said. “We all know these physicians — our mentors for the past four-plus years — people who radiate a love for their specialty, for their patients. They teach whenever they can, they are as hungry to learn as we are, soaking up knowledge like Surgi-cell, and immediately incorporating it into their practice. There is so much beauty and so many lessons in the practice of medicine, and to appreciate them, you need love.”

Many of those exemplary physician-educators were present, including medical school dean Dr. Mukesh Jain, who presided, and Dr. Patricia Poitevien, an associate professor of pediatrics who will soon become Brown’s vice president for campus life. 

Poitevien delivered an address titled “Your Calling is to Care: Medicine as a Practice of Justice and Joy,” in which she expanded on some of Pugacheva’s themes. The new M.D.s, who were showered with affection throughout the ceremony, were encouraged to hold that in their hearts as they advance their careers.

Video highlights from Friday and Saturday

From class reunions, Campus Dance and Commencement Forums to the Master’s Ceremony, block parties and the Baccalaureate, the first two days of Brown’s Commencement and Reunion Weekend 2025 have been action-packed. Highlights are here courtesy of Brown video producers Oliver Scampoli and Anthony Saccoccia.

Beloved youth baseball guru returns for 20th reunion

When the band Lush hit the stage at Friday evening’s Campus Dance, the man setting the tempo behind the drums was James Lowe, a 2005 graduate and star for the Brown baseball team. But lots of people involved in youth sports know Lowe by a different name: Coach Ballgame. 

Coach Ballgame has built a huge social media following offering advice to coaches, parents and players on how to keep youth sports — baseball and softball in particular — fun and engaging for kids. He now travels the country holding coaching clinics and serving as a youth ambassador for Major League Baseball. Returning for his 20^th reunion meant getting together with friends and teammates who helped to shape his work after graduation from Brown.

“My Brown teammates are my most prized friendships to this day and the most active text threads,” Lowe said. “Now I get to travel around the country and coach all of their kids and stay in their guest rooms and talk about old times. Being back at Brown with them, it’s about as good as it gets.”

Playing with his band at Campus Dance on Friday night was icing on the cake.

“It just doesn’t get any better than seeing the people you love the most rocking out the music you love to create,” Lowe said. “These are my favorite people in the world, and staying in close contact with each and every one of them is a priority for me.”

Chorus alumni reunite for final performance with retiring director Fred Jodry 

L. Frederick Jodry has led the Brown University Chorus in performances of countless music works — on campus, and on tours across five continents. As he prepares to conclude a 33-year tenure, dozens of chorus alumni from across the generations — and the world — returned to Providence to rehearse for a farewell concert in honor of and directed by Jodry. 

“I came back to celebrate Fred because he’s been hugely important,” said Class of 2002 graduate Rebecca Schendel.

Current and former chorus members will present the free concert, cleverly titled “Frexit,” on Saturday, May 24, at 7 p.m., at the Central Congregational Church in Providence. Class of 2005 graduate Lydia Brotherton Mahnkopf, a professional soprano, traveled from Berlin for the occasion.

“What’s really special about Fred is that he has such joy for what he does,” said Brotherton Mahnkopf, who served as chorus president as an undergraduate and helped lead the group’s tour to Russia and Finland. “It’s really nice to see him — and having brought together so many people.”

Class of 2003 graduate Bradley Naylor said the concert is “a beautiful summation of the wonderfully varied music that Fred has made.” Following in Jodry’s footsteps, Naylor is the choral director at Texas Wesleyan University. 

“What drew me back is that a lot of the wind in my professional wings early in my career came from Fred,” Naylor said.

The celebratory “Frexit” concert will feature music by Bach and Rachmaninoff and by Brown alumni composers Jesse Antin (Class of 1999) and Gabriel Kahane (Class of 2003), and graduating senior Luca Iallonardi.

“It’s been a privilege — what amazing talent Brown students have had,” Jodry said. “And it is really, really gratifying to see the ones that have gone on to careers in music.”

Honoring new military officers and graduating veterans

Members of the Brown community gathered on Friday, May 23, to honor students who have dedicated themselves not only to a Brown education, but also to serving their country as members of the U.S. armed forces.

The Graduating Veterans and ROTC Recognition Ceremony paid tribute to 15 veterans who have served in combat and other military capacities, and who will receive Brown degrees on Sunday at Brown’s 257th Commencement. The event also marked the commissioning of nine new U.S. military officers through ROTC programs, who took their oaths to defend the U.S. Constitution.

Among those receiving a commission was Juliette Hopgood, a public health concentrator from Seattle who will graduate as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. She is the first female Marine Corps officer commissioned at Brown since the University reestablished ties to the Marines’ ROTC program in 2015.

“Being the first woman commissioned since the return of the program is an honor, but more than anything, I hope it’s a sign of momentum,” Hopgood said. “Representation matters, and I’m proud to be part of a tradition that’s growing and evolving.”

She says her experience at Brown will help her to thrive as she embarks on her career. 

“I’ve grown a lot here — academically, personally and as a future officer,” Hopgood said. “Brown’s Open Curriculum and strong sense of community have really shaped how I think and lead... It’s a huge honor to take everything I’ve learned and begin serving in a much larger way.”

The capacity crowd in MacMillan Hall heard remarks from Marine Corps Lt. Col. Anthony Hatala, a 2004 graduate: “The world needs what you have to offer,” he told graduates. “Most importantly, you’ve demonstrated a willingness to serve a purpose greater than yourself.”

Alumni return to Brown ready to reminisce, reunite and revel in Commencement and Reunion

Thousands of Brown University graduates from across the generations converged on Wriston Quad on Friday, May 23, to check in for Commencement and Reunion Weekend.

Class of 1990 graduate Limary Rios Camacho traveled from Puerto Rico to Providence to celebrate her 35^th reunion, eager to reconnect with friends who were traveling from as far as Turkey and England. With her husband and daughter by her side, Rios Camacho fondly recalled some of her favorite memories from her time as a Brown undergraduate.

“I loved the restaurants on Thayer Street, Funk Night and tailgating at football games,” Rios Camacho said.

Thirty-five years later, the Brown campus and Providence still feel familiar, she said.

“It’s so nice and pretty here — it’s still the same,” Rios Camacho said. “I’m excited for Campus Dance and seeing my friends.”

Class of 1975 graduate Denise Slaughter traveled from Washington, D.C., to Brown to celebrate her 50^th reunion. Gathered with friends outside the check-in tent, she recalled a strong culture of student activism during her time at Brown — activism she continues to this day to advance “diversity, women’s equality, social justice,” she said.

“At Brown, we forged such great relationships,” said Slaughter, a founding officer of the Inman Page Black Alumni Council. “My core friends are still the same.”

For Class of 1995 graduate Alisa Algava, her heart has never strayed far from Brown. Her sister, Brown alumna Carin Algava, works at Brown’s Pembroke Center, and she cherishes reunions.

“I feel lucky that my connection to Brown feels a little seamless, like in some ways I never left,” said Alisa Algava, who lives in Brooklyn, New York. “But this reunion feels particularly great because a few of my closest friends who were also women peer counselors, minority peer counselors and resident counselors are flying in, so it will be wonderful to all just be together.”

Flying the coop: Graduates bid farewell to beloved crochet birds project

Birbs, adorable handmade crochet birds, have been a coveted find on the Brown campus in the two years since an anonymous Instagram account, @birbsatbrown, started posting photos of the colorful little crafts hidden in different spots across College Hill for people to find.

As they prepare to graduate, account co-founders Jen Chen, Angela Li and Jane Zhou are letting their closely guarded anonymity fly and celebrating the nearly 600 plump, colorful birds they have nestled in bushes and flowers, wedged between books at University libraries, tucked into the campus gates, dangled in trees and more.

“I’m filled with warmth and pride to have made something that’s given a lot of people joy,” Chen said.

As the account has soared to more than 6,000 followers, the team of birb creators has grown to about a dozen members, each of whom has expanded the birbs’ creative designs — fashioning birbs that look like peapods, Minions, tomatoes, pineapples and more. Support and enthusiasm for birbs also swelled among Brown alumni, who have generously donated funds and yarn to keep birbs hatching, the founders said. 

“The generosity of alumni has been really meaningful,” Chen said.

The founders also collaborated with social service organizations and hospitals in Providence, where they donated birbs. 

“Being able to utilize birbs and the generosity of everyone in the community to impact the local Providence area was really special,” Li said.

Ahead of Commencement and Reunion Weekend, the team bid farewell to Brown with a series of birbs in the University’s signature red and brown colors, each with a mortarboard cap and tassel. 

“The fact that we grew so much is a testament to the culture at Brown,” Zhou said. “People appreciate this simple, little joyful thing.”

Bringing the weekend to life, with local support 

Turning the Brown campus into a celebration space for thousands of graduates, alumni, family and friends doesn’t happen overnight. 

Planning for Commencement and Reunion Weekend begins months in advance and involves a coordinated campus-wide effort supported by nearly 50 Rhode Island businesses. Local vendors provide everything from staging and audio-visual production to printing, catering, photography, security and transportation. 

Newport Tent Company, now a division of PEAK Event Services, is one of Brown’s longtime local vendors. Based in nearby Portsmouth, the company has supported Commencement, among hundreds of other Brown events, since 1974.

To help bring the weekend to life, Newport Tent is installing nearly 60 tents — ranging from 9x10 to 100x200 feet — across more than 30 sites for graduation ceremonies, alumni reunions and other gatherings. Work began in mid-May and runs through Sunday, May 25, with installation crews of up to 25 people putting in hundreds of hours across campus. More than 50 drivers and crew members also deliver and set up 12,000 chairs and 1,000 tables, with some of the most intense work happening overnight as spaces are transformed with stages and dance floors for the next day’s events.

For Jon White, a tent sales consultant for PEAK Event Services, it’s the atmosphere on campus during the weekend that stands out most. 

“There’s something special about being part of a Commencement weekend at Brown — it’s the energy, and you can feel the excitement, pride and anticipation in the air,” White said. “We may be behind the scenes, but we know we’re helping create the backdrop for one of life’s biggest milestones. Seeing it all come together, and knowing families will walk into that space to celebrate something unforgettable, makes the long hours and hard work incredibly rewarding.”

Scholar of antiquity, guardian of tradition

Laurel Bestock, a Brown faculty member and Class of 1999 graduate, wields a special power during Commencement. As the mace bearer, she leads the procession and carries the ceremonial mace — the only person who processes in front of Brown’s president and other senior leaders.

“I am symbolically protecting the president as she’s walking and taking part in these incredibly important ceremonies,” Bestock said. “The mace is always carried by a member of the Brown faculty who was also a Brown student.”

An associate professor of archaeology and the ancient world and Egyptology and Assyriology, Bestock sees special significance in the mace, which was a type of weapon held by ancient Egyptian rulers during ceremonies to smite enemies, she said. 

“I don’t actually smite anyone with Brown’s mace,” Bestock quipped. “But it does connect me to a much more ancient past, as well as Brown’s own traditions.”

The mace is over 3 feet long, weighs more than 20 pounds and has been a part of Brown’s ceremonial traditions at Opening Convocation and Commencement for about a century, she said. 

“The mace is really big and really heavy, and I carry it for hours at a time,” Bestock said. “I’m always sore the next day.”

While the mace plays the same ceremonial role each May, its magic springs anew at each Commencement.

“While it’s repeated every year… it’s also always unique for every individual who walks through those gates,” said Bestock, referring to Brown’s Van Wickle Gates. “It’s the beginning — or the end — of a journey, and to be part of that for Brown students is something that just delights me. I did it myself as a Brown student, [and] I know how much it means.”

At the campus center, an early sign of Commencement and Reunion Weekend

By the time Brown’s facilities team maneuvered a lift into place to install ceremonial two-story banners on the façade of the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, other campus prep projects had started to signify that Commencement and Reunion Weekend is near. Outdoor lights had already been rigged on the College Green, encircling what will be the dance floor for Campus Dance, and (electric) mowers were out grooming the grass.

But for many members of the Brown community, the tall brown-and-red banners marked with the University’s traditional Coat of Arms are one of the first outwardly visible signs that Commencement is imminent. Installing the banners, each of which measures about 26 feet tall by 2 feet wide, requires a boom lift manned by two workers on the elevated platform as well as supervision from the ground.

“If you’re a senior taking pictures and you see this happening, you know we’re going to transform the Main Green,” said Andrew Avery, a manager of structural trades in Brown’s Facilities and Campus Operations unit who was overseeing the banner installation. “This is your spot.”

By 10 a.m. on Monday, May 19, the banners had been hung, secured and majestically unfurled, just in time to serve as a photo backdrop for a group of Brown seniors in white dresses who had wandered to the College Green with cameras in hand.