On May 15, some 5,000 people, including 560 members of Wellesley’s purple class of 2026, gathered under the tent on Severance Green to celebrate commencement. Student speaker Elise Christina Wilson ’26 reminded her classmates that “every piece—every person, every story, every voice—matters. Celebrate the differences that make our communities whole. Create space for those who have been denied.” And President Paula A. Johnson told the graduates, “I hope you never doubt that you were made for this moment. I hope you never underestimate your power to imagine new ways to move our country and world forward.”
Pioneering educator Ruth J. Simmons, returning to campus for the first time since she was a Guest Junior in 1965–66, called on the seniors to create paths for people who haven’t had the same opportunities they have.
“I urge you to … spurn the guarantee of comfort caused by wealth and upward mobility in exchange for turning back the rights of others,” Simmons said. “Remaining true to the Wellesley ideals will surely continue to propel you to a new and rich awareness of what it can mean to be a fully empowered human being unafraid to embrace the full humanity of others.” (For more on Simmons’s time at Wellesley, see “A Legend Returns.”)
“[A]fter but one year at Wellesley, followed by six decades of living and striving to understand fully my place in the world, what I experienced on this campus in that brief moment has been with me through every phase of my life and career.”
—Pioneering educator Ruth J. Simmons in her commencement address to the class of 2026
After the speech, Johnson invited Simmons back to the podium to bestow a special honor, naming her a distinguished honorary alumna of Wellesley College. The audience responded with a standing ovation.
This year’s recipients of the Pinanski Prize for Excellence in Teaching also elicited ovations from the crowd. They were: Mala Radhakrishnan, professor of chemistry; Jennifer Musto, associate professor of women’s and gender studies; and Pat Giersch, Edith Stix Wasserman Professor in Asian Studies and professor of history.
Commencement 2026
The winners of the Pinanski Prize—Mala Radhakrishnan, professor of chemistry; Jennifer Musto, associate professor of women’s and gender studies; and Pat Giersch, Edith Stix Wasserman Professor in Asian Studies and professor of history—join President Johnson on stage.
Elise Christina Wilson ’26, the senior speaker, addresses the class.
Chaplain Amira Quraishi delivers the invocation and land acknowledgement.
Class co-presidents Claire Schultz ’26 and Vivian Lee ’26 introduce the student speaker.
Visit wellesley.edu/news-events/commencement for more commencement coverage.
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