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ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ 101st Commencement Recognized Over 4,000 Degree Candidates May 29, with Honors for Award-Winning Journalists Brent Staples and Errol Louis<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2014Pulitzer Prize-winner Brent Staples received an honorary doctorate; Emmy Award-winner Errol Louis received the President\u2019s Medal, the school\u2019s highest administrative honor, and delivered the commencement address\u2014<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”32px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Flushing, N.Y., May 29, 2025\u2014ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ President Frank H. Wu presided over the school\u2019s 101st commencement exercises at 9 am on Thursday, May 29, which recognized over 4,000 degree candidates. In total, the college awarded approximately 4,030 undergraduate and graduate degrees this year to candidates from summer and fall 2024, and winter, spring, and summer 2025.\u200b An estimated audience of 9,000 attended the ceremony, which took place on the campus quadrangle. Watch a highlights video HERE<\/a> and the full ceremony HERE<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Pulitzer Prize-winner Brent Staples<\/strong>, a writer, journalist, and public intellectual, received the degree of doctor of humane letters, honoris causa<\/em>. Emmy Award-winner Errol Louis<\/strong>, a print and broadcast journalist, anchor, and host, received the President\u2019s Medal, the school\u2019s highest administrative honor. Louis also delivered the commencement address. Student Sofia Mitts, <\/strong>a Bayside, New York, resident, who graduated summa cum laude<\/em> with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Honors in the Social Sciences, addressed the graduates.<\/strong><\/p>\n Download honoree and ceremony photos\u00a0HERE<\/a>. Read about other noteworthy 2025 graduates\u00a0HERE<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAs you leave ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ, I am confident that you have earned more than a degree and a great education,\u201d said Wu in his address to the graduates. \u201cI hope that you\u2019ll take with you lifelong friendships, enduring memories, and the unyielding drive to make a positive impact on our society. But remember, your journey of learning doesn’t end here; it is a lifelong pursuit. Keep learning, stay curious, and never stop striving for excellence. Remember that success is not just about personal achievements but also about making a difference in the lives of others. Stay true to the motto of ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ: \u2018Discimus ut Serviamus<\/em>: We learn so that we may serve.\u2019 The world is waiting for your talents, and we can\u2019t wait to see all you accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n Other speakers were CUNY Board of Trustees Chairperson William C. Thompson, Jr.; CUNY Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost Alicia Alvero; Borough President Donovan Richards, Jr.; and New York City Council Member James Gennaro.<\/p>\n Brent Staples is nationally recognized for his essays and editorials on race, class, culture, and politics. A former science writer at the Chicago Sun-Times<\/em>, he has also held the positions of editor of the New York Times Book Review<\/em> and assistant editor of the New York Times<\/em> metropolitan news section; since 1990 he has been a member of the paper\u2019s editorial board. Staples has had a distinguished career. He received the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for his 1994 memoir, Parallel Time: Growing Up in Black and White<\/em>, and in 2019 he received a Pulitzer Prize \u201cfor editorials written with extraordinary moral clarity that charted the racial fault lines in the United States at a polarizing moment in the nation\u2019s history.\u201d His essay \u201cJust Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space,\u201d a compelling exploration of being casually perceived as criminal because of race\u2014first published in a 1986 issue of Ms.<\/em> and expanded in a 1987 Harper\u2019s<\/em> article\u2014is widely circulated and taught. Staples earned a BA at Widener University and, with fellowships from the Danforth and Ford Foundations, an MA and PhD in psychology at the University of Chicago. He taught psychology before becoming a journalist, has more recently served as a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, the University of Chicago, and Yale University, and has appeared on CUNY-TV in episodes of \u201cBlack America\u201d and \u201cBob Herbert\u2019s Op-Ed TV.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI stand before you today as the dream and the hope of my enslaved great-great grandmother Somerville Lowry\u00a0Staples, who was born in chains in Jeffersonian Virginia and freed by the conclusion of the Civil War,\u201d said Staples. \u201cI am profoundly grateful to ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ, President Wu, and the Trustees of The City University of New York for this humbling honor. I accept it in the name of Somerville Lowry\u00a0Staples,\u00a0the\u00a0matriarch of the\u00a0Staples\u00a0clan who steered our family through the treacherous shoals of the 19th-century\u00a0South.\u201d<\/p>\n Errol Louis is a journalist, educator, and philanthropist. He holds a BA in government from Harvard, an MA in political science from Yale, and a JD from Brooklyn Law School. After serving as a columnist for Our Time Press<\/em>, a weekly published in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Louis became associate editor of the New York Sun<\/em>. He joined the New York Daily News<\/em> in 2004, where he served as a columnist and editorial board member. He is a contributing writer to Vital City<\/em>, dedicated to informed urban policy, and is a columnist for New York Magazine<\/em>. Louis was formerly host of the \u201cMorning Show\u201d on radio station WWRL and, since 2008, has been a CNN contributor. As political anchor of Spectrum News NY1, he hosts \u201cInside City Hall\u201d and \u201cThe Big Deal.\u201d Since 2019 he has hosted \u201cYou Decide with Errol Louis,\u201d a weekly podcast offering in-depth discussions of politics and culture. He co-founded the Central Brooklyn Federal Credit Union and chairs the board of trustees at the Charles H. Revson Foundation, which awards grants in support of education, urban affairs, biomedical research, and Jewish philanthropy. Louis teaches at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, and has taught at the Pratt Institute, Hunter College, Long Island University, and New York University.<\/p>\n \u201cDream\u2026and when you dream, dream big,\u201d Louis told the graduates. \u201cDo yourself a favor and make your destination someplace grand! Make it someplace exciting! Picture yourself doing the greatest thing in the world, whatever that might mean to you\u2026.and make that your destination. Maybe for you, that means climbing up the ranks of a Big Four accounting firm, or maybe you want to strike out and start a tech business. You might want to be the administrator of a great arts organization, or be a psychologist and help people every day. You might want to head for Wall Street, or into public service. And some of you have majored in journalism\u2026so I might see you at the Graduate School of Journalism, or in my newsroom. Here’s the main point. Whatever you pick as your destination, make sure it means something to you \u2013 not to me, or your friends, or your parents \u2013 you.\u201d<\/p>\n Sofia Mitts, who was enrolled in the Transfer Honors Program, graduated summa cum laude<\/em> (4.0 GPA) with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Honors in the Social Sciences. A participant in the 2025 CUNY Research Symposium, she completed a senior research thesis and additional research projects\u2014both in and out of the classroom\u2014while serving as a teaching assistant for the Sociology Department. Mitts is a ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ Presidential Scholar and the recipient of two honorary awards from the Sociology Department; as student commencement speaker, she is one of two recipients of the Paul Klapper Scholarship, the college\u2019s highest honor for graduating seniors. (The College Committee on Honors and Awards selects the student speaker based on criteria\u00a0that include high grades and other forms of academic achievement, leadership, community service, breadth of courses taken, as well as evidence of originality, creativity, and promise of future contributions to society.) Mitts has committed to Hofstra School of Law on a full-tuition merit scholarship.<\/p>\n About ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ<\/strong> ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ produces more education graduates who become principals, teachers, and counselors for the city\u2019s public schools than any other college in the metropolitan area. The college contributes to the local talent pool as a powerful economic engine and a leader in tech education. Students from across the country and around the world are attracted to study at its School of Arts, which houses renowned programs in theatre, dance, fashion, studio art, and design as well as the Aaron Copland School of Music and the only Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Literary Translation program in CUNY.\u00a0The Aaron Copland School of Music\u2019s renowned faculty and alumni include nationally recognized composers, conductors, and performers who have received over 100 Grammy Awards and nominations. The ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ Business School expands beyond traditional offerings in accounting and economics to fintech, policy analysis, and risk management.<\/p>\n -30-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_social_media_follow icon_color=”#A9A9A9″ use_icon_font_size=”on” icon_font_size=”22px” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” text_orientation=”left” width=”100%” min_height=”97px” custom_margin=”4px||-1px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”facebook” url=”https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/press_release_template\/” icon_color=”#FFFFFF” use_icon_font_size=”on” _builder_version=”4.16.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#C0C0C0″ background_enable_color=”on” border_radii=”on|25px|25px|25px|25px” border_color_all=”#A9A9A9″ global_colors_info=”{}” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]facebook[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”twitter” url=”https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/press_releases\/” icon_color=”#FFFFFF” use_icon_font_size=”on” _builder_version=”4.16.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#C0C0C0″ background_enable_color=”on” border_radii=”on|25px|25px|25px|25px” global_colors_info=”{}” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]twitter[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”linkedin” url=”https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/cws\/share?url=https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/press_releases” icon_color=”#FFFFFF” use_icon_font_size=”on” _builder_version=”4.16.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#C0C0C0″ background_enable_color=”on” border_radii=”on|25px|25px|25px|25px” global_colors_info=”{}” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]linkedin[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][\/et_pb_social_media_follow][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6IjI1NzUiLCJlbmFibGVfaHRtbCI6Im9mZiJ9fQ==@” button_text=”Press Release Archive” _builder_version=”4.17.2″ _dynamic_attributes=”button_url” _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”16px” button_border_color=”#C0C0C0″ button_font=”||||||||” button_on_hover=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blurb title=”Maria Matteo” image_icon_background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” image_icon_width=”48px” _builder_version=”4.16.1″ header_font=”Open Sans||||||||” body_text_color=”#000000″ body_font_size=”16px” custom_padding=”|||0px||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]Media and College Relations ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ 101st Commencement Recognized Over 4,000 Degree Candidates May 29, with Honors for Award-Winning Journalists Brent Staples and Errol Louis\u00a0 \u2014Pulitzer Prize-winner Brent Staples received an honorary doctorate; Emmy Award-winner Errol Louis received the President\u2019s Medal, the school\u2019s highest administrative honor, and delivered the commencement address\u2014Flushing, N.Y., May 29, 2025\u2014ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ President Frank H. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"page_category":[],"wf_page_folders":[],"class_list":["post-5982","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5982"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6013,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5982\/revisions\/6013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"page_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page_category?post=5982"},{"taxonomy":"wf_page_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_page_folders?post=5982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ enjoys a national reputation for its liberal arts and sciences and pre-professional programs. With its graduate and undergraduate degrees, honors programs, and research and internship opportunities, the college helps its students realize their potential in countless ways, assisted by an accessible, award-winning faculty. Located on a beautiful, 80-acre campus in Flushing, New York, the college has been consistently cited by Princeton Review<\/em> as one of America\u2019s Best Value Colleges, as well as being ranked a Forbes<\/em> Magazine and Wall Street Journal<\/em> Best Value College thanks to its outstanding academics, generous financial aid packages, and relatively low costs. Princeton Review<\/em> has designated QC a Best College for 33 consecutive years\u2014since the guide’s inception. Forbes<\/em> Magazine, Money<\/em> Magazine, Princeton Review<\/em>, and U.S. News and World Report<\/em> recognize it as an overall top northeastern public college. Visit our\u00a0homepage<\/a>\u00a0to learn more\u200b.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/strong>718-997-5593
\nmaria.matteo@qc.cuny.edu<\/a>
\n[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"