Nominate Baruch’s 2026 Honorary Degree Recipients and Commencement Speaker

Dear Faculty and Staff,

This is a call to nominate candidates for Baruch College’s 2026 Commencement speakers and/or honorary degree recipients by Monday, October 27, 2025.

The Commencement speaker and honorary degree recipients serve as inspirations to the Baruch College community, especially to our graduating class of undergraduate and graduate students.

Through the conferral of honorary degrees and invitations to serve as Commencement speaker, we seek to honor people who have made exceptional contributions to their local, national, or global communities and their professions. The candidates’ life and work should reflect the values embodied by Baruch College and The City University of New York.

Per CUNY guidelines, honorary degree recipients must meet the following criteria:

1. Persons of national or international reputation in an academic discipline that holds a significant place in the curriculum of the awarding college;
2. Persons who have made significant contributions in either thought or action to American higher education or in a professional field closely related to an academic interest of the University or the awarding college;
3. Persons who have made significant contributions over a sustained period of time to the development of major programs at the University or at one of its colleges;
4. Persons who have given long and distinguished service to the University or one of its colleges, including those who have been in its employ and who have been retired or otherwise separated from the University or one of its colleges for a period of at least three years;
5. Persons who have made major contributions to furthering principles that are at the center of the University’s purpose and mission.

Learn more about CUNY’s past honorary degree recipients.

Please submit your nominations no later than October 27, 2025.

The Honorary Degree Committee led by Linda Essig, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, will meet in the upcoming weeks to review nominations and submit recommendations to me.

Sincerely,

S. David Wu
President, Baruch College