FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Fairfield University’s 75th Commencement ceremonies will recognize graduates from all five of the University’s distinguished schools — the College of Arts and Sciences, the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies, the School of Engineering & Computing, and the School of Education and Human Development.
The inaugural Fairfield Bellarmine Class of 2025 will celebrate Commencement Exercises on Thursday, May 15 at 4 p.m. at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. This ceremony marks Fairfield’s ongoing commitment to increasing access to Jesuit Catholic higher education for students in the Greater Bridgeport area. The ceremony will be available via livestream.
Graduate Commencement Exercises will take place at the Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Saturday, May 17 at 9:30 a.m. and will be livestreamed.
Undergraduate Commencement Exercises are scheduled for Sunday, May 18 at 9:30 a.m. on Bellarmine Lawn, also available via livestream.
For livestream links and details on Fairfield University’s 75th Commencement, undergraduate and graduate ceremonies, visit fairfield.edu/commencement.
For livestream link and information on Fairfield University's Inaugural Fairfield Bellarmine Commencement, visit fairfield.edu/bellarmine/commencement.
- Timothy Shriver, PhD, chairman of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors, will address the undergraduate Class of 2025 on May 18 and will be presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree by University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD.
- A Doctor of Laws honorary degree will be awarded to Rev. John F. Baldovin, S.J., a distinguished professor of liturgical theology at Boston College’s Clough School of Theology and Ministry, and a former longtime member of Fairfield’s Board of Trustees.
Graduate Speaker & Honorary Degrees
- The May 17 graduate ceremony speaker will be Cathy E. Minehan, a distinguished leader in finance, higher education, and public service, who will be recognized as an honorary Doctor of Laws recipient.
- A Doctor of Laws honorary degree will also be awarded to alumna, philanthropist, and former University Trustee Robin Bennett Kanarek ’96 during the graduate ceremony.
Fairfield Bellarmine's Inaugural Class
- The first class to graduate from Fairfield Bellarmine, the University’s two-year associate’s degree program, has achieved an 80% two-year graduation rate —significantly outpacing the statewide three-year graduation rate of less than 20% for community colleges in Connecticut.
- The Fairfield Bellarmine Class of 2025 includes 35 graduates; 31 plan to continue their studies toward bachelor's degrees at Fairfield University and one student will be attending Williams College in the fall.
Fairfield University is a modern, Jesuit Catholic University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 44 states, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and 46 countries, are enrolled in the University’s five schools. In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.