Remote video URL
Commencement 2026
You've earned it. Now it's time to celebrate.
Congratulations, Ford School graduates! Commencement marks a special time of year and an important milestone, and we're so excited to celebrate you. As you complete your PhD, MPA, MPP, or BA degree in public policy, you join a community of Ford School alumni dedicated to the public good.
We hope you will join us throughout commencement weekend as we celebrate in a few different ways. The events below include the Ford School Graduate Open House, the universitywide celebration at Michigan Stadium, and, most importantly, the Ford School Commencement Ceremony at Hill Auditorium on Sunday, May 3.
For those who cannot attend in person, a livestream will be available for the May 3 ceremony at Hill Auditorium.
Featured speakers
Featured speakers are part of the ceremony's platform party of faculty and guests. The dean selects the keynote speaker, and graduating students elect the faculty speaker and student class speakers.
Keynote Speaker
U.S. Senator Gary Peters to deliver 2026 Ford School commencement address
U.S. Senator Gary Peters will deliver the 2026 Ford School commencement address
Finish reading
Jonathan K. Hanson
Elected faculty speaker
Jonathan Hanson is a political scientist and lecturer at the Ford School. He is also director of the school's MPP/MPA program. His research explores the roles of democracy and state capacity in human development, why authoritarian regimes vary in economic and social outcomes, how the spatial distribution of ethnic group populations interacts with political institutions to affect public service delivery, and how to measure state capacity. Hanson holds an MA in economics and a PhD in political science from the University of Michigan. Prior to entering academia, he served as a legislative assistant in Congress for several years and worked on political campaigns. He continues to follow American electoral politics closely.
Breah Marie Flores Willy
Elected undergraduate speaker
Breah Marie Flores Willy, a Metro Detroit native, earned a BA in public policy and a minor in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences, with a focus on Urban Inequality and Development. As a research assistant for the Ford School’s inaugural Bridge Builders program, Willy strengthened her skills in facilitating dialogue across differences and reducing political polarization—work she values as essential to building stronger policy spaces and more empathetic communities. Outside the classroom, she has advocated for positive change as co-president of the Michigan Institute for Progressive Policy and has built community through song as vice president of the University of Michigan Women’s Glee Club. After graduation, she plans to use her public policy, quantitative analysis, and bridge-building skills to advance economic and housing justice in Michigan.
Elizabeth Mugo
Elected graduate speaker
Elizabeth Mugo calls both Ruiru, Kenya, and Irmo, South Carolina, home. She earned a Master of Public Policy from the Ford School and served as vice chair of the Student Affairs Committee (SAC). Before Michigan, Mugo spent more than four years in policy research at Mathematica, focusing on child welfare, economic mobility, and education, where she led a process evaluation of a learning community of state agency leaders in Mississippi. She earned a BA in sociology and anthropology from Washington and Lee University, where she served as student body vice president and later president—the first Black woman to hold each role. She completed her MPP internship as a policy and research fellow with the Executive Office of the Governor of Michigan. She plans to work in state or local government, advancing economic mobility through education access and poverty alleviation.
Platform party
Gary Peters, United States Senator from the State of Michigan; Celeste Watkins-Hayes, Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy, Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, and professor of sociology; Kathryn Dominguez, associate dean for academic affairs, Marina von Neumann Whitman Distinguished University Professor of Public Policy, professor of economics; Jeffrey Morenoff, associate dean for research and policy engagement, professor of public policy and sociology; Jonathan Hanson, MPP/MPA program director, lecturer in public policy; Joy Rohde, BA program director, associate professor of public policy; Kevin Stange, PhD program director, professor of public policy; Amy Beck Harris, lecturer of public policy; Stephanie Leiser, lecturer in public policy; Brian Jacob, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy, professor of public policy, economics, and education; Catherine Hausman, associate professor of public policy; Yusuf Neggers, assistant professor of public policy; Alford A. Young, Jr., University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, Edgar G. Epps Collegiate Professor of Sociology, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, professor of African and African American studies, professor of public policy; Breah Marie Willy (BA ‘26), elected undergraduate speaker; Elizabeth Mugo (MPP ‘26), elected graduate speaker; Lior Cooper (BA ‘26), undergraduate student flag-bearer; Patrick Szendro Arceo (BA ‘26), undergraduate student flag-bearer; Lauren Parker (MPP ‘26), graduate student flag-bearer
Tickets and entry
This event is for members of the Ford School community and invited guests. A ticket is required for entry to Hill Auditorium for all attendees, including graduates, guests, faculty, and staff.
Tickets will be available starting April 13 and may be picked up from the Student & Academic Services office during business hours (Monday–Friday, 8:00 am–5:00 pm).
Graduating students may claim up to 15 guest tickets during the first phase of ticketing (April 13–24). Requests for additional tickets beyond the initial 15 may be submitted starting April 27, as available. The last day to pick up tickets is May 1. Graduating students will receive additional ticketing instructions via email.
Safety and security
Please review the list of prohibited items before arriving. Prohibited items include umbrellas, large bags/backpacks, outside food and beverage containers, and professional video cameras, among others. Items that are not permitted inside Hill Auditorium cannot be stored onsite, so please leave them at home or in your vehicle. Guests may be denied entry if they arrive with prohibited items.
All attendees will pass through weapons detectors staffed by University of Michigan security personnel. To avoid disruptions, the auditorium doors will close at 4:20 pm. Please arrive early to allow time for security screening and seating.
Protest, speech, and disruption
Our ceremony is a celebration of our graduating students' accomplishments.
The University of Michigan has a longstanding commitment to free speech and free expression.
We know that our community members will bring their full selves to Hill Auditorium, including their passionate convictions, fears, and hopes. We will see and hear differences on display, as graduations in general are often sites of free expression and peaceful protest. Whether taped to mortarboards or articulated on stage, each of us might hear viewpoints with which we disagree, and that might feel painful, especially at a celebratory event.
It is important to note that while we respect the right to free expression, we also understand and respect that peoples’ reactions to the speech of others can be deeply personal. Freedom of expression also means that individuals who object to the use of some language or symbols at an event like this one might choose to vacate our space–perhaps temporarily–so that they will not be exposed to expressions that offend or hurt them. Video monitors will be in the lobby of Hill Auditorium so that those who choose to step out of the ceremony for any reason can see when they might want to step back in.
Across campus and at the Ford School ceremony as well, deans and directors will generally be patient with lawful disruptions. If protests significantly impede the program, leadership will take steps to de-escalate and address the interruption.
Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are antithetical to everything we stand for as a University of Michigan community and as the Ford School. We ask that all graduates and attendees take care to account for the humanity and perspectives of others.
We may see our differences at the ceremony, and we will also see and hear the values we share: a commitment to the public good, a generous sense of belonging, and the imperative in a diverse society to seek and recognize the humanity in others.
More celebrations
University-wide
All U-M Commencement activities
Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives
Campus multicultural celebrations
Rackham Graduate School
Rackham Graduate Exercises
#FordSchool26
There are many different ways to stay engaged
- Keep your contact information up-to-date. Fill out your graduation check-in survey. Having your most recent contact information means you won’t miss out on Ford School news, events, and updates. Each time you move and/or change jobs, you can update your contact information by filling out a form linked on that page.
- Attend Ford School events. The events calendar is the best place to find the details and RSVP for these opportunities to engage with your fellow alumni. Save the date: July 9 - Worldwide Ford School Spirit Day. Also, we hope to see you at homecoming weekend, October 16-17.
- Join the LinkedIn group. Connect with over 2,899 Ford School alumni and continue to grow your Ford School network!
- Plug into our resources for continued learning and growth. As an alum, you may still access some of the Ford School’s professional and educational resources, such as FordCareers. You may register as an alum in FordCareers and/or learn more about the career resources available through the U-M Alumni Association.
- Maintain your connection through the U-M Alumni Association with your family of 670,000+Wolverines. Check out career resources, access alumni clubs and communities, or whatever interests you.
- Meet with current students and share your professional expertise with them through office hours, mock interviews, and resume reviews. Upcoming volunteer opportunities include: Fall 2026 - Alumni Office Hours; details available in early fall '26.
- Become an Alumni Admissions Ambassador and help recruit the next class of the leaders and best. Alumni Admissions Ambassadors attend recruitment fairs, make phone calls to admitted students, and/or share Ford School recruitment materials with friends, colleagues, and family members who are prospective students.
- Send in job and internship opportunities with your organizations—as you get settled in your jobs—to [email protected]. Make your fellow Fordies your colleagues!
- When you’re able, pay it forward for future Fordies as they prepare to take on our communities' and the world's most pressing challenges by making a gift. Learn more about the impact outside support has on Ford School students.
- Shop the Ford School Spirit Store! Browse a wide selection of new gear, including hoodies, sweatpants, hats, tees, jackets, bags, and more. Domestic shipping is available.
- Follow the Ford School on social media.
And don't forget, as a new grad, the U-M Alumni Association also welcomes you to a family of 670,000+ fellow Wolverines. Check out their website for information on accessing alumni community career resources and networking opportunities.
.. there is no way we can go forward except together and no way anybody can win except by serving the people's urgent needs. We cannot stand still or slip backwards. We must go forward now together."
Gerald R. Ford (AB '35, HLLD '74), 38th President of the United States
Forever, and always, Go Blue!