The University of Connecticut’s commencement ceremonies are right around the corner. Each of UConn’s 12 undergraduate commencement ceremonies will feature speakers with connections to UConn, from alumni who went on to have successful careers to large donors and those still involved with decision-making at the university. From Grammy winners to food and health executives, here are UConn’s May 2026 commencement speakers according to UConn Today.
The College of Engineering’s commencement, held in Gampel Pavilion on May 9, will feature 1984 mechanical engineering and materials science graduate Matthew Olander. He will be receiving an honorary doctorate of science. For 25 years, he’s worked at General Dynamics Electric Boat, located in Groton, Conn. In 2025, he was appointed senior vice president of programs and planning at Electric Boat. He was inducted into the UConn Academy of Distinguished Engineers in 2023, serves on the College of Engineering Advisory Board and serves on the National Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technology.
The School of Nursing will feature 1969 nursing graduate Elisabeth DeLuca, who will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters. DeLuca is now the new namesake of the nursing school after her $50 million donation last year, the largest donation UConn has ever received. The new nursing building under construction on the Storrs campus will also be named DeLuca Hall after the alumna.
During her career, DeLuca served as a medical-surgical and intensive care nurse at Bridgeport Hospital in Connecticut. She served as President of the Elisabeth C. DeLuca Foundation, an organization committed to “nurturing the wellbeing of individuals, families, and those caring for them by supporting their growth and health,” according to its website. The school’s commencement ceremony is on May 9 atthe Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.
Antonietta Boucher will speak at the School of Business’ commencement ceremony on May 9 in Gampel and will receive an honorary doctorate of letters. After growing up in southern Italy and immigrating to Connecticut at 5 years old, she attended elementary school in Naugatuck, Conn., speaking no English at all. Eventually, she graduated from UConn with an MBA in 2002. She is a former Connecticut state senator and a 12-year state representative. She currently serves as First Selectwoman of Wilton, Conn.
At UConn, Boucher has served on the UConn Foundation board of directors and finance committee. She has also worked with the Nonprofit Leadership Institute and leads her own nonprofit, the Boucher Family Foundation. Boucher has written two books in the past year: “The Husky Effect: How UConn is Creating the Entrepreneurs of the Future,” and an autobiography titled “Stone Doll: An Immigrant’s Memoir from War-Torn Italy to the American Dream.”
The School of Social Work’s commencement speaker is Scot X. Esdaile, who will be receiving an honorary doctorate of laws. Esdaile is a lifelong New Haven, Conn. resident who has served as the president of the Connecticut NAACP for more than 21 years. As a civil rights leader, Esdaile championed abolishing the death penalty in the state, limiting the use of tasers and establishing the Minority Health Advisory Council.
While not a UConn graduate, Esdaile has worked closely with UConn and UConn Health on many initiatives, including the Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, which focuses on trying to “regenerate complex tissue and organ systems,” according to its website. The School of Social Work’s ceremony is on May 9 at Jorgensen.
Kevin Burns, a 1986 engineering graduate, will speak at the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources’ commencement on May 9 in Gampel. He currently serves as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Chobani, the country’s number one yogurt brand. Burns is a member of the College of Engineering’s Academy of Distinguished Engineers. He has established scholarships for UConn students as well. He will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters.
Seven-time Grammy Award-winner Frank Filipetti will receive an honorary doctorate of fine arts as he speaks at the School of Fine Arts’ commencement on May 9 at Jorgensen. Filipetti graduated in 1971 after earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology. The Bristol, Conn. native is now a record producer, audio engineer and mixer on Broadway, including in shows “Wicked” and “The Book of Mormon.” His most recent Grammy was Best Musical Theater Album for “The Color Purple” in 2017.
As the largest college at UConn, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences commencement is split into three ceremonies.
Ceremony one’s commencement speech will be given by Tina Clark Beamon, a 1994 graduate in psychology. She is an attorney currently serving on UConn’s CLAS Dean’s Advisory Board. She serves on Connecticut’s Social Equity Council, which works to “promote equitable economic prosperity…and reinvesting in communities most impacted by the war on drugs,” according to its website. This ceremony will be held on May 10 in Gampel.
Ceremony two of CLAS, also on May 10 at Gampel, will feature Anita McBride, a 1981 graduate in international studies. She worked in the White House for over 20 years and with three presidential administrations: Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush. Today, she is an executive in residence at American University’s School of Public Affairs. McBride has received UConn’s President’s Award of Distinction and will also receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters.
CLAS Ceremony three, also May 10 at Gampel, will feature Barbara Smith, a former Ph.D. student in English at UConn, finishing all work except her dissertation in 1981. She has been working in the field of Black feminist thought for more than 50 years, co-founding the Combahee River Collective in 1974 and publishing a now-famous statement discussing the overlapping forms of oppression black women — particularly gay black women — face. Smith has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and the Harriet Tubman Lifetime Achievement Award.
Jocelyn Tamborello-Noble will speak at the Neag School of Education commencement on May 10. She graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Science in Spanish education in 2003, a master’s in world language education in 2004 and earned a sixth-year certificate in 2006. She is now the principal of Conard High School in West Hartford, Conn., where she went to school when she was young. The school, under her leadership, was named the state’s high school of the year for 2026 by the Connecticut Association of Schools. Tamborello-Noble is the former president of the Neag School of Education Alumni Board and its Student and Alumni Networking Committee.
The School of Pharmacy’s Bachelor of Science commencement ceremony will be held on May 10 at Jorgensen, featuring Marielle Nyser, a 1992 school of pharmacy graduate. After completing her residency at UConn Health, Nyser was a clinical pharmacist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Chartwell Home Infusion. She went on to become a leader in the health care and biopharmaceutical science business world, now working at The Cigna Group in operations.