Bennington College Commencement
You are cordially invited to Bennington College’s ninetieth Commencement ceremony.
Please save the date for May 30th and May 31st, 2025 as we celebrate the Class of 2025.
*This website is currently under construction! Please check back in December for more updates!*
*This website is under construction!*
Don't miss a thing! Be sure to check your @bennington.edu email regularly for all communications. Details regarding Commencement will be shared via our official email (commencement@bennington.edu), and posted to this website under the tab Email Communications. READ YOUR EMAILS!
Our FAQ section is also a complete source of information to stay on track!
Congratulations to members of the Class of 2025, December Graduates and MFA Candidates!
OVERVIEW
Commencement is less than one year away! We are so excited to celebrate and to accompany you through the last steps of your Bennington College journey!
Please remember to review your @bennington.edu email for more updates which will come from our commencement@bennington.edu account. In December 2024, more information will be shared. In this head's-up section you will find resources that you will need (and we will ask you to fill out via email prompts) in order to make the most of your Commencement experience!
Below you will find:
- Important dates and action items (links incoming), and these will also be shared to you via email in the early spring.
- Instructional videos on wearing regalia (cap & gown) as well as Bennington College's Processional (Watch these to inform your Commencement experience further)
How to Wear Commencement Regalia (Undergraduates)
Watch out How to Wear Commencement Regalia (Undergraduates), for tassel placement, fit and general advice! (2 mins)
*You will receive your regalia (if ordered) during the Commencement Rehearsal (Commencement Week: Wednesday)
How to Wear Commencement Regalia (MFA)
Watch out How to Wear Commencement Regalia (MFA), for tassel placement, fit and general advice! (2 mins)
*You will receive your regalia (if ordered) during the Commencement Rehearsal (Commencement Week: Wednesday)
Bennington's Conferring of Degrees Processional Review
Watch our Conferring of Degrees Processional Review video to see what the Conferring of Degrees Ceremony will look like on the day! (2 mins)
*Detailed instructions will be shared during the Commencement Rehearsal (Commencement Week: Wednesday)
Important Dates to Keep in Mind
Important dates to keep in mind:
(Locations and specific times will be updated and confirmed to you via email as we get closer to Commencement)
- Commencement Rehearsal: Wednesday, May 28th (more details forthcoming early Spring)
- Commencement Eve (Seniors Only): Friday, May 30th (more details forthcoming late Fall)
- Conferring of Degrees Ceremony (All Welcome): Saturday, May 31st (more details forthcoming late Fall)
Action Items
Class of 2025, December Graduates and MFA Candidates Forms for Commencement
(*Links coming in spring term)
Cap and Gown
All graduates will be asked to fill out the Cap and Gown form; however, please note that wearing this regalia is optional. The Cap and Gown form is quite brief, and must be completed by the specified date (forthcoming in the spring term 2025). This is essential for timely delivery, as we are still navigating supply chain issues. Caps and Gowns will be distributed at Commencement Rehearsal on Commencement week Wednesday. Please note: your Cap and Gown are yours to keep!
- Form to fill out for Cap and Gown ordering: (forthcoming in the spring term 2025)
Graduation Fee
The graduation fee will be billed in the spring semester. This covers the cost of the diploma, the cap and gown and goes to offset the cost of Commencement Dinner.
Contact Preferences
For your awareness, emails regarding Commencement will be sent to the parents or guardians marked in your file. Please take a moment to review your file to make sure it is accurate, and use this form to make any necessary updates if you’d like to make changes (e.g. mark a parent or guardian as “do not contact”). Once you press submit, this information will update Populi automatically.
COVID Policy
Bennington College is a mask-friendly campus, but masks are not required. Please do not come to campus if you feel ill or have COVID-19 symptoms, or if you have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 7 days.
Accessibility and Mobility
For immediate questions and requests regarding accessibility and mobility around campus, please reach out to commencement@bennington.edu. Event specific information will follow in the spring.
Preferences and Seating
Information will be sent to guests and graduates in early May. Please check your email and this website for the most up-to-date information.
Commencement Rehearsal
Save the date! Rehearsal takes place on Wednesday, May 28th, 2025 (the week of Commencement). Please check your email and this website for the most up-to-date information.
Guest Registration to Attend Dessert Reception and/or Conferring of Degrees
All guests of graduates must register to attend Commencement weekend celebrations. This information is vital to us for planning purposes, as we need to know the expected number of guests for each of these events in order to staff appropriately. We appreciate your assistance with this important process.
The registration process will be handled through a single Guest Registration form. (This will be sent out to parents and guardians in late spring).
Inclement Weather/Storm Weather
Should the need arise, a storm weather evacuation and relocation plan will be shared the week of Commencement.
Commencement Livestream
All livestream links for Commencement Celebrations will be shared (via email and through this website, under the Livestream section) with graduates and their guests the week prior to, or the week of Commencement. Our live streaming platform is Youtube, where viewers can select the option to generate close captions.
These links will be available after Commencement in the Archive section of this website.
Emails to graduates and families will begin in December 2024! Please be on the lookout for communications from our official email: commencement@bennington.edu.
*Please check this website in December 2024 for more detailed information. Note: You will be prompted to all required action and sent the most relevant information via email.
OVERVIEW
Details regarding Commencement will be shared via our official email (commencement@bennington.edu), and posted to this website under the tab Email Communications.
Our FAQ section is also a complete source of information, to stay on track!
Commencement Weekend at Bennington is a moment for students, families and guests to celebrate the experiences lived and shared through the Bennington College journey.
In this section, we wish to provide families and guests with the resources needed to experience the moment to the fullest!
For information regarding the Town of Bennington, we invite you to check out our Where to Eat, Sleep, Explore site! More information can be found of the Town of Bennington and Vermont websites:
- Downtown Bennington Walking Tour
- Bennington (Vermont Begins Here)
- Explore Vermont: Downtown Bennington
There will be email communications forthcoming in the spring term regarding accessibility, for any questions please reach out to us at commencement@bennington.edu.
Important Dates to Keep in Mind
Important dates to keep in mind:
(Locations and specific times will be updated and confirmed to you via email as we get closer to the date)
- Dessert Reception for Families and Guests (4 guests per graduate): Friday, May 30th (more details forthcoming December and spring term)
- Conferring of Degrees Ceremony (All Welcome): Saturday, May 31st (more details forthcoming December and spring term)
Action Items
Family and Guests Forms for Commencement
(*Links coming in the spring term 2025)
*Please check back in the spring term for more detailed information. Kindly know you will be prompted to action via Faculty Notes and/or email.
OVERVIEW
Esteemed Faculty,
We are so pleased to invite you to share in the celebrations of Bennington College's 90th Commencement Ceremony! Faculty is invited to participate in many of the Commencement Week activities (you will receive several prompts through your Bennington email and Faculty News in the spring term).
Important Dates to Keep in Mind
Important dates to keep in mind:
(Locations and specific times will be updated and confirmed to you via email as we get closer to the date)
- Commencement Eve: Friday, May 30th (more details forthcoming in the spring term)
- Conferring of Degrees Ceremony: Saturday, May 31st (more details forthcoming in the spring term)
Action Items
Faculty Forms for Commencement
- Links and forms coming in spring 2025.
*Please check back in the spring term for more detailed information.
OVERVIEW
Esteemed Staff,
We are so pleased to invite you to share in the celebrations of Bennington College's 90th Commencement Ceremony! We are excited to invite the staff to several of the Commencement Week activities. Details will be shared in the spring term via email and the Bennington Bulletin.
Important Dates to Keep in Mind
Important dates to keep in mind:
(Locations and specific times will be updated and confirmed to you via email as we get closer to the date)
- Conferring of Degrees Ceremony: Saturday, May 31st (more details forthcoming in the spring term)
Action Items
Staff Forms for Commencement
- Links and forms will be shared in spring 2025
Livestream links to Commencement 2025 will be shared in the week prior to or the week of Commencement!
The Class of 2025 swag will be available through the website mid spring 2025!
Past Coverage
- 2024 Commencement Eve and Commencement Day coverage with Safiya Sinclair '10.
- 2023 Commencement Eve and Commencement Day coverage with Sofia Alvarez '07.
- 2022 Commencement Eve and Commencement Day coverage with Jericho Brown.
- 2021 Commencement Eve coverage with Darren Walker and Commencement Day coverage
- 2020 Commencement Eve coverage with Nigel Poor ’86 and Commencement Day coverage
- 2019 coverage with Mountain Man
- 2018 coverage with Liz Lerman
- 2017 coverage with Cornell William Brooks
- 2016 coverage with Jane Chu
- 2015 coverage with Gloria Steinem
- 2014 coverage with Johnnetta Cole
Past Commencement Speakers
- 2024 | Safiya Sinclair '10
- 2023 | Sofia Alvarez '07
- 2022 | Jericho Brown
- 2021 | Darren Walker
- 2020 | Nigel Poor ’86
- 2019 | Mountain Man (Molly Erin Sarlé ’12, Amelia Meath ’10, and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig ’09)
- 2018 | Liz Lerman
- 2017 | Cornell William Brooks
- 2016 | Jane Chu
- 2015 | Gloria Steinem
- 2014 | Dr. Johnnetta Cole
- 2013 | Elizabeth Coleman
- 2012 | Peter Dinklage ’91
- 2011 | Tim Daly ’79
- 2010 | Melissa Rosenberg ’86
- 2009 | Hendrick Hertzberg
- 2008 | Rebecca Tinsley
- 2007 | Mac Maharaj
- 2006 | Glen Van Brummelen
- 2005 | Jonathan Lethem ’86
- 2004 | Shirin Ebadi
- 2003 | Edith Velmans
- 2002 | Meredith Monk
- 2001 | Rick Moody
- 2000 | Gay McDougall ’69
- 1999 | Peter Hedges
- 1998 | Linda Wertheimer
- 1997 | Jane Alexander
- 1996 | Mark Gearan
- 1995 | Irene Borger ’71
- 1994 | Harvey Lichtenstein ’53
- 1993 | Kay Crawford Murray ’56
- 1992 | Harvey Fierstein
- 1991 | Harvey Gantt
- 1990 | Joan Tower ’61
- 1989 | Ellen McCulloch-Lovell ’69
- 1988 | Elizabeth Frank ’67
- 1987 | Barbara Lazear Ascher ’68
- 1986 | Tillie Olsen
- 1985 | Elizabeth Swados ’73
- 1984 | Howard Nemerov
- 1983 | Frederick Wiseman
- 1982 | Joseph S. Murphy
- 1981 | Bernard Malamud
- 1980 | Elizabeth Swados ’73
- 1979 | Vivian Gornick
- 1978 | Mitchell Markowitz ’75
- 1977 | Elizabeth Holtzman
- 1976 | Joseph S. Iseman
- 1975 | Carol Channing ’42
- 1974 | Thomas Brockway
- 1973 | Senior readings and performance
- 1972 | Jimmy Garrison
- 1971 | Anaïs Nin
- 1970 | Kurt Vonnegut
- 1969 | Denise Levertov
- 1968 | Thomas P.F. Hoving
- 1967 | Russell Baker
- 1966 | Howard Nemerov
- 1965 | Gene Baro
- 1964 | William Sloane Coffin, Jr.
- 1963 | David Riesman
- 1962 | Kenneth Burke
- 1961 | Henri Peyre
- 1960 | Francis Fergusson
- 1959 | George Boas
- 1958 | Jacques Barzun
- 1957 | Alvin Eurich
- 1956 | Howard M. Jones
- 1955 | W. Averell Harriman P ’40
- 1954 | Franklin Ford
- 1953 | Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
- 1952 | Harry Allen Overstreet
- 1951 | Mary Josephine Shelly
- 1950 | Reinhold Niebuhr
- 1949 | Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey
- 1948 | Erich Fromm
- 1947 | Lewis Webster Jones
- 1946 | Reinhold Niebuhr
- 1945 | Justice Frank Murphy
- 1944 | Alexander Meiklejohn
- 1943 | Robert D. Leigh
- 1942 | William Batt
- 1941 | Robert Lynd
- 1940 | Henry Wallace
- 1939 | Dorothy Canfield Fischer
- 1938 | Frederick Lewis Allen
- 1937 | W.H. Kilpatrick
- 1936 | No commencement speaker