Rutgers Board of Governors Approves 2025 University Commencement Speakers
Peter Seligmann to address Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers Health; Ramy Youssef to address Rutgers-Newark; and Mickalene Thomas to address Rutgers-Camden graduates
Peter Seligmann, Rutgers alumnus, first-generation American and an influential voice in conservation, will address graduates at the 259th anniversary commencement of Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Rutgers Health on May 18, 2025, the Rutgers Board of Governors approved today.
The board also approved an honorary doctor of laws degree for Rajiv Vinnakota, a pioneering social entrepreneur; and an honorary doctor of letters degree for Laurie Patton, president of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Rutgers University Student Assembly President Jack Ramirez will deliver remarks during the 10 a.m. ceremony at SHI Stadium in Piscataway.
“We look forward to Commencement Week, when we will welcome our distinguished commencement speakers and honorary degree recipients and salute the Class of 2025,” said President Jonathan Holloway. “We take immense pride in our graduating students and the curiosity, determination, creativity and passion they have shown throughout their studies at Rutgers. With thanks to so many people across the university involved in planning these commencement festivities, we can’t wait to celebrate our newest graduates and the value and importance of the Rutgers degrees they have earned.”
Ramy Youssef, an award-winning Egyptian-American creator, actor, producer, director and comedian, will deliver remarks at Rutgers University-Newark’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at the Prudential Center in Newark. The board also confirmed an honorary doctor of fine arts degree for Youssef.
The Rutgers University-Camden and Graduate School commencement will be Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion. Mickalene Thomas, a distinguished visualist and filmmaker who has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally since 2003, will deliver the keynote address at the ceremony. The board also confirmed an honorary doctor of fine arts degree for Thomas.
Peter Seligmann
For nearly 40 years, Seligmann has championed conservation, working closely with governments, organizations and corporations across multiple continents to promote a shared commitment to equity, environmental health and economic vitality. He is best known for co-founding the environmental nonprofits Conservation International and the global collaborative Nia Tero.
Born to parents who escaped Nazi Germany and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, Seligmann’s love of nature stems from extended family gatherings in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he was inspired by the mountainous and unspoiled landscape.
He graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor’s degree in science for wildlife ecology in 1972 and from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Science in 1974. He worked for the Nature Conservancy in California from 1976 to 1986, leading their International Program from 1986-87.
In 1987, Seligmann, along with several colleagues, founded Conservation International (CI), where he served as CEO until 2017. CI empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, global biodiversity and the well-being of humanity. Since its inception, CI and its partners have protected 1.5 billion acres of land and sea, benefiting millions of people in more than 100 countries. Seligmann was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree in 2003 by Rutgers for his role with the nonprofit and his “distinguished service to science.”
As chair of CI in 2017, Seligmann, along with several colleagues, founded Nia Tero, an organization dedicated to supporting indigenous peoples’ guardianship of their territories. In its first seven years, Nia Tero partnered with more than 300 indigenous people to support the protection of over 300,000,000 acres of their territorial waters and lands. In January 2025, Seligmann stepped down as CEO, but continues to serve on Nia Tero’s Board of Directors.
In January, Seligmann became the chair of Silvania, a natural capital fund committed to establishing nature as an investable asset class. He was appointed distinguished professor of practice at Arizona State University in March. Seligmann also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of the Mulago Foundation and the New School’s Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility.
He and his wife, Lee Rhodes (the founder of Glassybaby), split their time between Montana and Seattle, and have between them six children and a growing number of grandchildren.
Laurie Patton to Receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree
Before joining the American Academy of Arts & Sciences this January, Patton served as president of Middlebury College – the first woman to lead the institution in its 224-year history. Her leadership at Middlebury brought a signature initiative on conflict transformation, where skills in addressing conflict are understood as a necessary part of a 21st-century education. As a result of her environmental leadership, Middlebury is now well on its way toward its goal of being the first campus of its kind to be 100% powered by renewable energy in 2028, after becoming carbon neutral in 2016. Patton also introduced new arts, sciences and residential learning programs and raised $500 million in a record-breaking comprehensive campaign.
Previously, Patton served as dean of Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the Durden Professor of Religion. At Duke, she oversaw 36 academic departments and programs in arts and sciences for the school, which awards 80% of Duke’s bachelor’s degrees. Patton also oversaw Trinity’s $435 million commitment to the “Duke Forward” campaign.
From 1996 to 2011, Patton served on the faculty and administration at Emory University, where she was the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Religions and inaugural director of Emory’s Center for Faculty Development and Excellence in the Office of the Provost. At Emory, Patton was chair of the Religion Department from 2000 to 2007. Patton began her career at Bard College, where she was assistant professor of Asian religions from 1991 to 1996.
Patton is an authority on South Asian history, culture and religion, and on religion and the public sphere. She is the author or editor of 11 books and more than 70 articles in the field and has translated the classical Sanskrit text The Bhagavad Gita for Penguin Classics. She has also published three books of poetry, focusing on themes of Indian mythology, Biblical narrative and the architectural imagination. Patton has lectured widely on interfaith issues and religion and public life and has consulted with White House offices on faith-based initiatives and civic engagement. She has held Fulbright Fellowships in Israel and India and visiting appointments at the University of Tel Aviv, Hebrew University and Deccan College (India).
Patton earned her B.A. from Harvard University in 1983 and her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1991. From 2008 to 2011, she served as president of the American Society for the Study of Religion. In 2019, Patton became president of the American Academy of Religion, a national scholarly society of over 8,000 members.
She was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2018 in two categories, philosophy/religion and educational leadership. Since becoming its president, Patton has been focusing the academy’s initiatives on building and maintaining democracy through the cultivation of thought leadership.
Rajiv Vinnakota to Receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree
Vinnakota has dedicated his life to initiatives that help Americans from all walks of life become productive and engaged members of society. As president of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, he cultivates the talent, ideas, and networks that develop lifelong, effective citizens.
Before joining the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, Vinnakota served as executive vice president of the Aspen Institute. In this role, he launched and led the new Youth & Engagement Programs division devoted to youth leadership development, civic engagement and opportunity.
Early in his career, Vinnakota co-founded the SEED Foundation, the nation’s first network of public, college-preparatory boarding schools for underserved children. Vinnakota won multiple awards for his work with SEED, including Harvard University’s Innovation in American Government Award, Fast Company/Monitor Group’s Social Capitalist Award, and Oprah Winfrey’s Use Your Life Award. He continues to serve on SEED’s Board of Directors.
Vinnakota currently co-chairs the Civics and Civic Engagement Taskforce for the United States Congress Semiquincentennial Commission celebrating the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding. He also co-chairs the Civic Learning Pillar of the Partnership for American Democracy and serves on the advisory committee for Citizen Data.
Vinnakota has been at the forefront of innovative scholarship and research that has played a pivotal role in shaping the civic field. He has authored several publications and regularly appears on media outlets as an expert on civic learning and Gen Z.
The son of Indian immigrants, he grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from Princeton University, where he received Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson Award, the university’s highest honor for undergraduate alumni.
Rutgers-Newark Names Commencement Speaker
Ramy Youssef, a writer, actor and director who is fast becoming one of the leading artists of his generation, will be the keynote speaker at Rutgers University-Newark’s commencement ceremony, where he will also receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree.
Youssef, who was raised in Rutherford, New Jersey, and attended Rutgers-Newark before embarking on a career in show business, is best known for Hulu’s Peabody Award-winning comedy and Emmy-nominated series, Ramy, which he created, produces, directs and stars in. Inspired by his own experiences, the show, now in its fourth season, centers around a first-generation Egyptian-American Muslim on a spiritual journey in his politically divided New Jersey neighborhood. Youssef received a Golden Globe in 2020 in the category of “Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy” for his work on Ramy. His latest project, the adult-animated series #1 Happy Family USA, debuted on Prime Video April 17. The series follows “the maniacally upbeat Husseins” as they strive to be the most patriotic and peaceful Muslim family in post-9/11 America.
On the big screen, Youssef made his feature performance debut in Yorgos Lanthimos’s critically acclaimed Poor Things opposite Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo. Behind the camera, Youssef was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for his work on an episode of FX’s Emmy-winning series The Bear titled “Honeydew.” Youssef is also the co-creator and executive producer of Netflix’s Mo, a semi-autobiographical series inspired by Mo Amer’s life as a Palestinian refugee growing up in Houston, Texas.
Rutgers-Camden Names Commencement Speaker
Rutgers University-Camden will hold the Rutgers University-Camden and Graduate School commencement on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion. Contemporary African American visual artist Mickalene Thomas will deliver the keynote address at the ceremony, where she will also receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree.
A Camden, New Jersey, native, Thomas was recently named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list for 2025. She is best known for combining art-historical, political and pop cultural references to create striking figurative and nonfigurative paintings, photographs and mixed-medium pieces. Her work stems from a long study of art history and classical genres of portraiture, introducing complex notions of femininity and challenging common definitions of beauty and aesthetic representation.
Her iconic portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama hangs in the Smithsonian’s Portrait Gallery. Outside of her core practice, Thomas is a prolific curator, educator, and mentor to many emerging artists.
Thomas received her M.F.A. from the Yale School of Art, where she has served as the 2020 Presidential Visiting Fellow in Fine Arts and as a member of the faculty as a critic in painting/printmaking. She has earned multiple awards and fellowships throughout her career, including a Tony Award nomination.
