The University of Pittsburgh celebrated its Class of 2026 at spring commencement on May 3, with thousands of graduates and their guests attending the undergraduate ceremony held for the first time at Acrisure Stadium on Pittsburgh’s North Shore.
The event marked a significant milestone for students and their families as they joined Pitt’s network of more than 360,000 alumni. The stadium was filled with family, friends, faculty, and staff who cheered as graduates crossed the stage. Cameras flashed and “Hail to Pitt” played throughout Acrisure Stadium.
Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg delivered the keynote address. After nearly five decades serving the university, Nordenberg announced he would step down from his leadership roles at Pitt’s Institute of Politics and Dick Thornburgh Forum for Law and Public Policy effective June 30. Sunday’s speech was his second commencement address; his first was in 2014 during his final year as chancellor.
Before Nordenberg spoke, Chancellor Joan Gabel presented him with the Chancellor’s Medal—Pitt’s highest honor—which has been awarded fewer than two dozen times in university history. The medal is engraved: “Devoted leader, enduring legacy.”
In his remarks to graduates, Nordenberg said: “If you move through life believing in the basic goodness of other people and extending to them the respect that would imply, you may be disappointed from time to time, but most often those other people will prove you to be right. And that mindset not only will make your journey through life more productive, but it will make you feel better about yourself and your life.”
Shanthi Bhaskar also addressed her classmates after earning a Bachelor of Science in computational biology with minors in chemistry and economics from Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Bhaskar said: “We built resilience, the kind no one sees, the kind that shows up at 1 a.m. when your assignment isn’t coming together, your code will not compile or your ideas just aren’t clicking and you are faced with a choice: Walk away or keep going,” adding: “And we did. We kept going.”
The ceremony concluded by inviting attendees to reflect on memorable moments from graduation day.
