At Colgate’s 205th Commencement, keynote speaker Ole Obermann ’93, global head of Apple Music, told the Class of 2026: “Your personal relationships will become even more important in the future.” He expressed hope that, alongside the knowledge graduates have gained at Colgate, they can also take with them human connections, chance encounters, and serendipitous classes that no algorithm or artificial intelligence could provide. “And Colgate has prepared you very well for that,” he said at the May 17 ceremony. “Colgate attracts and trains great minds with an extraordinary ability to interact with others. Make sure you connect the dots that Colgate puts out there for you.”
Calling attention to the transformations that will accompany the expansion of artificial intelligence, Obermann maintains a belief in the importance of human imagination and experience. “There is a growing sentiment that AI can take over creativity as stories, scripts, songs, and designs become automated,” he said. “I feel exactly the opposite is true. Soul, love, joy, and taste will matter even more in the future.”
In remarks the day before at the baccalaureate service, University President Brian W. Casey stressed the lifelong importance of addressing the question “What are you committed to?” Casey explained the significance of the query by specifying that “a commitment is different from a preference, which can be lightly held, and it is different from a plan, which often changes. A commitment asks something of us. It’s deeper somehow. It can hold you steady when the next step is not yet visible.”
Such positions, he further noted, arrive in a variety of forms and at unexpected junctures, for “part of the wonder of life is that our commitments can emerge and deepen over time. Some are chosen. Some are discovered. Some arrive through loss. Some arrive through love. But I hope Colgate has helped you begin to know yours.”
Also addressing the class at the May 16 service, journalist Ann Curry — who was awarded an honorary doctorate at Sunday’s commencement ceremony — encouraged the class to find sources of consolation amid life’s inevitable chaos. “I encourage you to collect your own consolations,” Curry urged the graduates. “Choose what most resonates with you. Keep them close…. They will grow. And you might well find you can breathe easier during your worst of times and feel inspired toward your best of times.”
Commencement speaker Ole Obermann ’93 created a playlist of 13 songs for the graduates on Apple Music.
Class of 2026
- 767 undergraduates earned a bachelor of arts degree
- 9 awarded a master of arts in teaching, four with distinction
- Valedictorian: Peter Flynn McGrath of Washington, D.C.; summa cum laude, physics major and German minor; high honors in physics; elected to Phi Beta Kappa
- Salutorian: Andrew Reinhard Hatfield of New York, N.Y.; summa cum laude, economics major and computer science and mathematics minors
- 33 elected to Phi Beta Kappa
- 168 summa cum laude
- 257 magna cum laude
- 140 cum laude