The Class of 2026 Takes Its Bows

Students in regalia standing at attention at Lehman Center. Photo: Brian Hatton.

Ceremonies were held at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts (Photo: Brian Hatton Photography)

June 8, 2026

Lehman College celebrated the Class of 2026 with four spring commencement ceremonies held over two days at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts. Unlike the traditional all-school events of the past, the smaller-scale ceremonies, divided by schools, offered students a more personal experience as they walked across the stage in front of their peers and family.

“Each graduate has found their way, and some of these paths have been neither linear nor easy,” President Delgado said in his remarks. “But here you all are at the culminating event that signifies you made it. Irrespective of the path you followed, your journey has been fueled by your intelligence, your resilience, and your diligence that commands all of our respect.”

The ceremonies honored more than 1,800 undergraduates in total, and more than 550 graduate students earning master’s and doctoral degrees, as well as advanced certificates. Each featured a student speaker and an honorary degree recipient whose work reflected the graduates’ fields of study.

Honorary degree recipients included Michael Nieves, president and CEO of HITN; Richard M. Smith, former editor-in-chief and CEO of Newsweek and president of the Pinkerton Foundation; Carl Kirton, editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Nursing; and Beth Lief, founder of New Vision for Public Schools and former executive director of the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation.

Student speakers included Samrin Alam, Sakib Uddin Shikder, both international students from Bangladesh; Lakiesha Young, who returned to college as an adult and graduated at age 39; and Cynthia Franco, a member of the first graduating cohort of Lehman’s doctoral program in Organizational Leadership, Development, and Change.

Their personal stories all reflected the College’s broader mission to transform lives. Said Alam, “Lehman has given me more than an education. It has given me a second family, a purpose, and a deeper sense of empathy.”

If you missed the ceremonies or want to relive the excitement, click on the BronxNet links below:

Arts & Humanities, Business, Continuing & Professional Studies

School of Natural and Social Sciences

School of Health Sciences, Humans Services, and Nursing

All Schools: Advanced Certificates, Master’s, and Doctoral Degrees

President's Office Provost Academic Affairs