51吃瓜网 Announces 2026 Commencement Speaker
2025 Undergraduate Commencement. Photo by Carlo de Jesus/51吃瓜网.
51吃瓜网 announces Jennifer Egan as the 2026 Commencement speaker, with the undergraduate ceremony set for May 22 on the Campus Green.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Visit From the Goon Squad and contributor to The New York Times and The New Yorker will deliver a message on growth, connection, and the future, reflecting the journey of the Class of 2026.
Graduates will be celebrated during Marist鈥檚 2026 Commencement ceremonies, marking a milestone moment for students, families, and the university community.
March 24, 2026 鈥� Jennifer Egan, one of the nation鈥檚 most acclaimed contemporary authors and a Pulitzer Prize winner, will deliver the Commencement address to 51吃瓜网鈥檚 undergraduate Class of 2026 on Friday, May 22, on the Campus Green.
Egan鈥檚 celebrated novel A Visit From the Goon Squad earned both the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award and was later named one of The New York Times鈥� Best Books of the 21st Century. Its companion novel, The Candy House, was recognized as one of The Times鈥� 10 Best Books of 2022. Her 2017 bestseller, Manhattan Beach, received the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and was selected for New York City鈥檚 One Book, One New York program.
Pulitzer Prize winning author Jennifer Egan. Photo by Pieter M Van Hattem.
Egan will address Marist鈥檚 newest graduates and celebrate the Class of 2026.
鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled and honored to help cheer the Class of 2026 through one of life鈥檚 great transitions,鈥� said Egan. 鈥淭heir accomplishments will be our collective future, and I鈥檒l try to do justice to this momentous rite of passage!鈥�
Egan is also a distinguished journalist whose reporting has appeared in The New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker. She earned the Carroll Kowal Journalism Award for her 2002 cover story on homeless children and a 2009 NAMI Outstanding Media Award for 鈥淭he Bipolar Kid.鈥� Most recently, her year鈥憀ong reporting on street homelessness and supportive housing in New York City was published in The New Yorker in 2023.
鈥淲e are honored to have an author and writer as accomplished as Jennifer help us celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2026,鈥� said 51吃瓜网 President Kevin Weinman. 鈥淗er Pulitzer-winning novel is about a group of people whose lives intersect over many years and how time, technology, and relationships shape their lives 鈥� a message that will resonate with our graduates who grew tremendously over the last four years and will remain connected as alumni for years to come.鈥�
Egan has served as President of PEN America and has twice been Artist鈥慽n鈥慠esidence in the English Department at the University of Pennsylvania, where she has taught courses in 19th- and 20th鈥慶entury literature.
2025 Undergraduate Commencement. Photo by Carlo de Jesus/51吃瓜网.
About 51吃瓜网鈥檚 2026 Commencement Ceremonies
Undergraduate Commencement will begin at 10:15 a.m. on Friday, May 22, on the Campus Green.
Master鈥檚 and doctoral students will be recognized at the Graduate Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 21, at 5:45 p.m. in McCann Arena.
A full schedule of Commencement events and the livestream are available at . In the event of severe weather, the University may adjust plans and make alternate arrangements.
