Commencement 2022
Celebrating graduates of the classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Celebrating graduates of the classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Fifty-Sixth Commencement
We look forward to celebrating the achievements of our doctoral and master’s graduates at this year’s Commencement.
Date: Thursday, June 9, 2022
Location: Barclays Center, 620 Atlantic Avenue; Brooklyn, NY 11217
Time: 3:30 p.m. ceremony begins at Barclays Center
(Graduates are to arrive in academic attire by 2:00 p.m.)
RSVP: by Thursday, May 12, 2022
Guests enter through the Geico Atrium (Main Entrance) at 620 Atlantic Avenue, which will open at 2:30 p.m. Graduates, faculty, and staff (who are working at the event) should review the Participants Information page for entrance information.
All guests should review our COVID-19 Protocols and Measures.
Watch the recording on YouTube.
Graduates Guide
- Graduate registration for commencement is now closed.
- All tickets will be digital and distributed to the student via the email provided in the Nelnet form starting the week of May 16.
- See additional information on the Participants Information page.
Grads Share Their Stories
Speakers
Commencement Speaker
Stephen Brier
Professor Emeritus of Urban Education
As a professor in the Graduate Center Ph.D. Program in Urban Education, Stephen Brier taught courses on the history of public education. He founded the Interactive Technology and Pedagogy Certificate Program at the Graduate Center in 2002, served as its coordinator for 18 years, and designed and taught the program’s core courses and independent study program. He is a historian who has published widely on issues ranging from U.S. social and labor history and the history of public higher education to the uses of digital technologies and tools to improve academic teaching, learning, and research. He was the founding director of the Graduate Center American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, which he headed for 18 years, and was the executive producer of the project’s award-winning “Who Built America?” multimedia curriculum, including textbooks, videos, and CD-ROMs. He has co-produced other award-winning websites, including “History Matters,” the “September 11 Digital Archive,” and the “CUNY Digital History Archive.” He served for 11 years as a senior administrator at the Graduate Center, as the senior academic technology officer and the co-founder and co-director of the Graduate Center New Media Lab. He also taught labor history at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.

Student Speaker
Raj Korpan
Ph.D. 2021, Computer Science
Raj Korpan joined Iona College as an assistant professor of computer science in 2021. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the CUNY Graduate Center in 2021, an M.S. in Statistics from Baruch College (CUNY) in 2015, and a B.S. in Economics and Finance from Bentley University in 2010. After a few years of working in the financial industry, he pursued an academic career because of his love for research and teaching. His research in artificial intelligence and robotics is focused on human-robot interaction, explainable AI, and cognitive models. He has previously taught courses at Hunter College (CUNY), including Introduction to Computer Science, Computers & Money, and Capstone for Majors. In addition to teaching, he has served as a volunteer judge at the New York City Science and Engineering Fair for high school students, co-chair of the Doctoral and Graduate Students' Council at the Graduate Center, and as a member of the search committees for both the president and provost at the CUNY Graduate Center. He is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery, American Statistical Association, IEEE, Cognitive Science Society, and AAAI.

COVID-19 Protocols and Measures
Spaced seating
Graduates and faculty will be seated on the arena floor every other seat, every other row. Seating on the stage for members of the platform party will also be distanced and will be set back at least six feet from the front of the stage.
There is ample room in the arena for guests of graduates to spread out and create space between groups.
Masking and Other Protocols
We encourage all attendees to wear masks and are following the masking protocols and other COVID-19 policies set by CUNY and Barclays Center.
See the CUNY COVID-19 policies.