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Chef, chocolatier, and Hamilton alumnus Stephen Durfee ’85 urged the Class of 2026 to be present and patient enough to find what they love during the College’s Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 24, in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House, where 510 bachelor of arts degrees were awarded.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of a beloved Hamilton tradition. At every Commencement ceremony since 1976, a wooden cane has been presented to each graduate as a token of the College’s affection and a nod to its long history. The head of the cane forms a Continental tricorn hat in honor of Baron von Steuben, drillmaster of Washington’s Continental Army, who laid the cornerstone of the Hamilton-Oneida Academy on July 1, 1794.

Chef and chocolatier Stephen Durfee, director of curriculum at Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco, and a 1985 graduate of Hamilton College, will deliver Hamilton’s 2026 Commencement address and receive an honorary degree on Sunday, May 24, at 10:30 a.m., in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House. A class of 507 students is expected to receive bachelor’s degrees during the Commencement ceremony.

Designer and artist Bruce Mau, the co-founder and CEO of the global design consultancy Massive Change Network, told the Class of 2025 that they are all designers of their own futures with the power to inspire change at Hamilton’s Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 25.

Designer and artist Bruce Mau, the co-founder and CEO of Massive Change Network, a global design consultancy in the Chicago area, will deliver Hamilton’s 2025 Commencement address and receive an honorary degree on Sunday, May 25, at 10:30 a.m., in Margaret Bundy Scott Field House. A class of 568 students is expected to receive bachelor’s degrees during the Commencement ceremony.

National and regional news organizations regularly interview Hamilton faculty, staff, alumni, and students for their expertise and perspectives on current events, and to feature programs and activities on campus. May’s news topics included varied subjects from twin co-valedictorians to communism to the consumer price index.

Former Sen. Doug Jones, a U.S. attorney in Alabama who prosecuted accomplices in the racially motivated 1963 16th St. Baptist Church bombing, addressed the 493 members of the graduating class at Hamilton’s commencement, urging them to be guardians of democracy. The ceremony took place on Sunday, May 19, in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.

Chloe and Olivia Chiota came to Hamilton four years ago as a package deal. The identical twins from Southborough, Mass., knew they wanted to play lacrosse together and be challenged academically. Several NESCAC colleges made their list, but one thing stood out about Hamilton.

Lisa Trivedi, the Christian A. Johnson Excellence in Teaching Professor of History, joined the faculty in 2000 and took over the role of College Marshal this academic year from Margaret Thickstun, the Jane Watson Irwin Professor of Literature.

Former Alabama Senator Doug Jones, a prosecutor who brought long-overdue justice to the victims of the 1963 Birmingham, Ala., 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, will deliver Hamilton’s 2024 Commencement address and receive an honorary degree on Sunday, May 19, at 10:30 a.m., in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House. In addition to Jones, an honorary degree will be awarded to Rosa Brooks, the Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Policy at Georgetown Law, and author of Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City.