Hamilton College

The Class of 2024 graduated on Sunday, May 19, in a ceremony concluding the College's 212th year. Former Sen. Doug Jones, a U.S. attorney in Alabama who prosecuted accomplices in 1963's racially motivated 16th St. Baptist Church bombing, addressed members of the graduating class, urging them to be guardians of democracy. Acknowledging the global events the Class of 2024 has seen, he told the class they are ready to meet whatever challenges they may face and to seize opportunities as they arise. "You are here today because, as the Hamilton motto goes, you grew to 'Know Thyself' and in doing so, you never lost faith in yourself," Jones said. Hamilton's 487 graduates now join an alumni body of more than 24,000, many of whom have made important contributions to business, the professions, government and the arts.

The Class of 2023 graduated on Sunday, May 21, in a ceremony concluding the College's 211th year. Retired Navy Adm. Michelle J. Howard, the first female four-star admiral and chair of the 2020-22 Congressional Naming Commission, was awarded an honorary degree and delivered the Commencement address. In her remarks, Howard shared anecdotes from her time before and after active duty, all tied to this life lesson: the call to the common good is for all of us. "As your namesake [Alexander Hamilton] would say, the first duty is justice," she told the Class of 2023. Hamilton's 500 graduates now join an alumni body of more than 23,000, many of whom have made important contributions to business, the professions, government and the arts.

The Class of 2022 graduated on Sunday, May 22, in a ceremony concluding the College's 210th year. Gillian Zucker, a member of the Class of 1990 and president of business operations for the NBA's LA Clippers, was awarded an honorary degree and delivered the Commencement address. In her remarks, Zucker compared her time at Hamilton with that of this year's graduates, who were sophomores when the COVID-19 pandemic began. "Your resilience - the way you refused to be denied your Hamilton experience - it is an inspiration," she told the graduates. Hamilton's 492 graduates now join an alumni body of more than 23,000, many of whom have made important contributions to business, the professions, government and the arts.

The Class of 2021 graduated on Saturday, May 22, in a ceremony concluding the College's 209th year. Ty Seidule, a military historian and the College's inaugural Chamberlain Fellow, was awarded an honorary degree and delivered the Commencement address. He advised the graduates never to stop learning and striving to achieve the College's motto, Know Thyself. "Know your own history. Know your community's history. Keep questioning. Because that is really the only way to know thyself," he said. Hamilton's 473 graduates now join an alumni body of more than 24,000, many of whom have made important contributions to business, the professions, government and the arts.

The Class of 2020 graduated on Sunday, May 24, in a virtual ceremony concluding the College's 208th year. In his remarks, President Wippman said, "For over two centuries, the College has flourished and grown, finding its way past wars and conflicts, depressions and recessions, epidemics and pandemics. In every generation there have been defining moments. "We may not get to choose our defining moments, but we do get to choose how we respond. Adversity brings with it disappointment, anxiety, and loss. But it also brings opportunity, to learn, to grow, to find one's own inner strength. We don't get to choose these defining moments. They choose us." Hamilton's nearly 500 graduates now join an alumni body of more than 23,600, many of whom have made important contributions to business, the professions, government and the arts.

The Class of 2019 graduated on Sunday, May 26, in a ceremony concluding the College's 207th year. Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, delivered the Commencement address, advising graduates to "keep asking the hard questions and keep thinking of things we've not thought about - about social justice and inequality and seeking the truth." Hamilton's 490 graduates now join an alumni body of more than 23,000, many of whom have made important contributions to business, the professions, government and the arts.