President’s Baccalaureate Remarks

Saturday, May 24, 2025
by Elizabeth H. Bradley, President

Welcome to family, friends, faculty, Board of Trustees, our distinguished speaker and alum Dr. Marcelle Hayashida, and Class of 2025! And a very special welcome and thanks to the Council of ALANA Seniors, who have organized and are hosting this event.

The baccalaureate is an academic tradition dating back to the 1300–1400s when the University of Oxford used to require each graduating student to deliver a “sermon” in a service before they were awarded their bachelor’s degree. In more recent times, the baccalaureate service has been observed as a time of reflection, spirituality, and pause—before the big day of commencement.

It is a hard time when values we hold most dear are challenged. That is the time we at Vassar are in. We are dedicated here to diversity of all kinds, and not just to diversity but to inclusion as well—where all are included. And we share a dream of a more equitable and accessible world. These values, which might be called the bedrock of our collective humanity, are now (and, I should say, are again) being challenged for political and economic gain. We have seen this show before.

Let us not be deterred. The road is a long one and the setbacks are many. But we are stronger than all these setbacks. We know in higher education that we learn better in diverse communities, we build empathy for each other, and our free exchange of ideas fosters a stronger, more peaceful, and more just community.

Today, we begin a two-day celebration with a focus on the many forms of expression—and during this reflective and joyful time, we will be thinking of the voices that are not here…as well as the voices who have brought us to this place by believing in us.

May this time be an invitation to each of us—an opening to see ourselves in our uniqueness and see ourselves together forging our common path. Congratulations Class of 2025!