Commencement 2025 Sunday, May 25, 2025

Join us on Sunday morning, May 29, for live coverage, beginning at 9:30 a.m., of the 156th Bates Commencement as we celebrate the Class of 2022 and welcome Commencement speaker Dr. Nirav Shah, leader of the COVID-19 public health response in Maine, and fellow honorary degree recipients Michael Bonney ʼ80, Nikki Giovanni, and Becca Stevens.

“We treat those with different beliefs not just as incorrect, but as ignorant,” said Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and a luminary in the state’s COVID-19 response. “Don’t do that,” he told the seniors. Instead, “be someone who builds trust.”

Honorary degree citations for Michael W. Bonney ’80, Nikki Giovanni, Becca Stevens, and Dr. Nirav Shah, presented at Bates Commencement on May 22, 2022.

Aided by seniors keen on making the campus look great for their graduation, the Bates grounds crew plants annuals here and there, including an iconic Commencement location.

The Class of 2022 gathered this morning for their senior photo at Garcelon Field. Aside from a round of good-humored booing, all went well.

Senior speaker at Commencement on Sunday, Teresa Chico ’22 talks about her experience as a first-gen student, how she’s like a certain plant, and why she claps really loud when a cup is dropped in Commons.

Among this season’s Commencement speakers, Dr. Nirav Shah, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control who will deliver the Bates Commencement address on Sunday, May 29, owns one of the most active and entertaining feeds.

Designed by a Bates studio art major, and installed by Bates mason Ron Tardif with the tools of his trade, the Class of 2022 ivy stone is all about simplicity. This year’s design shows the power of simplicity.