Connecticut

Colleges in CT to hold commencement ceremonies. Here’s when and where they take place

Published

2 years ago

May 9, 2024

Colleges in CT to hold commencement ceremonies. Here’s when and where they take place

It is that time of year: Colleges across the state are gearing up for graduations and commencement ceremonies this weekend.

Hoping to catch a loved one accepting their diploma? Unsure when or where the big day is? We have all of the information you’ll need.

Here is the full breakdown:

Central Connecticut State University:

“Central Connecticut State University will host two outdoor commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 11. (The inclement weather date is Sunday, May 12.) Both ceremonies also will be livestreamed at www.ccsu.edu/commencement/.”

9 a.m. ceremony:
- Carol A. Ammon College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
- School of Business
2:30 p.m. ceremony:
- School of Education & Professional Studies
- School of Engineering, Science & Technology

Quinnipiac University:

Friday, May 10, at 1 p.m.: Dr. Manisha Juthani, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, will speak to Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine graduates at M&T Bank Arena on the York Hill Campus.
Friday, May 10 at 5 p.m.: Arunan Arulampalam, mayor of the city of Hartford, will address graduates from the School of Law at M&T Bank Arena.
Saturday, May 11 at 10 a.m.: The School of Business and School of Computing and Engineering undergraduate and graduate Commencement is scheduled on the Mount Carmel Campus Quad. Adele Merritt, Intelligence Community chief information officer, will be the guest speaker.
Saturday, May 11 at 3 p.m.: Jon-Paul Venoit, president and CEO of Masonicare, will address graduates during the School of Health Sciences undergraduate and graduate Commencement on the Mount Carmel Campus Quad.
Sunday, May 12 at 10 a.m.: Casting director Jazzy Collins will speak at the undergraduate and graduate Commencement of the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Communications on the Mount Carmel Campus Quad.
Sunday, May 12 at 3 p.m.: Charlene M. Russell-Tucker, commissioner of the Connecticut State Department of Education, will address the School of Nursing and School of Education undergraduates and graduates on the Mount Carmel Campus Quad.

Sunday’s commencement will mark a special day for Rebecca Iannucci, a mother who gave birth twice during her studies and who will be receiving her master’s degree on Mother’s Day, according to UNH.

“This is a Mother’s Day I’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” she said. “I’ve definitely had a busy schedule, balancing everything. Fortunately, I have a good support system and my husband is really great.”

“I’m so happy to be done with the master’s program,” Iannucci added. “They asked me if I wanted to take some time off to have Ryleigh. I was like, ‘Heck no, I need to be done.’”

Sacred Heart:

Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at 6 p.m. | Martire Family Arena
3135 Easton Tpke, Fairfield, CT 06825
Graduate commencement: College of Arts & Sciences, College of Health Professions, Davis & Henley College of Nursing
Saturday, May 11, 2024, at 10 a.m. | Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
500 Broad Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604
Undergraduate commencement: College of Arts & Sciences, College of Health Professions
Saturday, May 11, 2024, at 3 p.m. | Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
500 Broad Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604
Undergraduate commencement: Welch College of Business & Technology, Farrington College of Education & Human Development, Davis & Henley College of Nursing, St. Vincent’s College

Springfield College:

“Springfield College will hold its 138th Commencement ceremonies on the weekend of May 11-12, during which undergraduate and graduate students will receive their diplomas and be recognized for their academic accomplishments. Each ceremony will feature a Commencement speaker.”

“The Graduate Student Commencement Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 11, at 9:30 a.m. in the Field House in the Wellness and Recreation Complex on the Springfield College campus. We proudly announce that U.S. Representative Richard E. Neal will be granted an honorary Doctor of Humanics degree and deliver the Commencement.”
“The Undergraduate Student Commencement ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 12, at 9:30 a.m. at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. This year’s commencement speaker is Martin Dobrow, professor of communications at Springfield College.”

Trinity College:

“Trinity College alumnus Daniel Meyer ’80, P’20 will be the 2024 Commencement speaker on Sunday, May 19, at 11 a.m., on the Main Quad. He will receive an honorary degree along with a pair of local leaders who have shaped Hartford, Luke and Sara Bronin.”

University of Hartford:

“Commencement addresses by two distinguished alumni will be among the highlights of the University of Hartford’s 2024 Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 12, at downtown Hartford’s XL Center.”

Sunday, May 12 at 9 a.m.: UHart’s Graduate Ceremony
Sunday, May 12 at 2 p.m.: UHart’s Undergraduate Ceremony

University of New Haven:

Thursday, May 9 at 4:30 p.m.: “Master’s Degree Students from the Pompea College of Business (Check in begins and gates open at 3 p.m.)”
Friday, May 10 at 10 a.m. “Master’s Degree Students & Doctoral Candidates from the College of Arts and Sciences, Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, and School of Health Sciences (Check in begins and gates open at 8:30 a.m.)”
Friday, May 10 at 4:30 p.m. “Master’s Degree Students from the Tagliatela College of Engineering (Check in begins and gates open at 3 p.m.)”
Saturday, May 11 at 10 a.m. “All Undergraduate Students (Check in begins and gates open at 8:30 a.m.)”

University of Saint Joseph:

Friday, May 10 at 9 a.m.: Pharmacy Hooding ceremony. The speaker at the Pharmacy hooding is Debbie Habib, PharmD, Pharmacy Team Leader and a graduate of USJ’s first Pharmacy class.
Friday, May 10 at 1 p.m.: PA Hooding Ceremony, Pharmacy at 9 a.m., PA at 1 p.m.

Western Connecticut State University:

“Western Connecticut State University will hold its 126th Commencement exercises on Sunday, May 12, at the Total Mortgage Arena, 600 Main St. in Bridgeport. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. for 1,122 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree recipients from the university’s Ancell School of Business, Macricostas School of Arts & Sciences, School of Professional Studies and School of Visual & Performing Arts.”

Yale University:

“Yale’s 323rd commencement will be held on Monday, May 20, 2024, on the historic Old Campus. Monday’s ceremony marks the occasion at which all university and honorary degrees are formally conferred. Diploma ceremonies follow the university ceremony in all residential colleges and at each school.”

Yale is also hosting their Class Day Sunday, May 19, for Yale College graduates. Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, United States surgeon general, is scheduled to be Yale’s 2024 Class Day speaker.

Need your school added? Email bcallahan@courant.com

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Connecticut

Connecticut agrees to settlement with Hyundai, Kia to stop vehicles from being stolen

Published

6 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Connecticut agrees to settlement with Hyundai, Kia to stop vehicles from being stolen

CONNECTICUT (WTNH) — Connecticut officials and officials from 35 other states have agreed to a settlement with automakers Hyundai and Kia to come up with a plan to help prevent vehicles from being stolen.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong (D) and 35 other states call the settlement, which has been several years in the making, a matter of public safety. The issue concerns the number of Hyundai and Kia vehicles that have been reported stolen and crashes related to these thefts.

The settlement provides up to $4.5 million in restitution for customers whose cars had been stolen.

“This settlement points us back in the right direction to help address some of the underlining issues that have made it easier to steal vehicles,” Meriden Police Chief Roberto Rosado said.

Tong said that groups of young people known as “Kia Boys” were aware that Kia and Hyundai vehicles did not possess modern anti-theft technology, making those brands of vehicles more vulnerable to theft.

One such example is a 2023 incident in which a group of teens reportedly stole and crashed a Hyundai in Waterbury, resulting in the death of a 14-year-old girl.

“Connecticut State Police have been saying for some time that they needed some assistance, that they needed help in reducing the opportunity for these vehicles to be stolen,” Connecticut Department of Emergency Services Commissioner Ronnell Higgins said.

Several states have attempted to get Hyundai and Kia to alter the way their vehicles are built in the United States, finally coming to an agreement with the two automakers to provide an anti-theft device to protect the vehicles.

“At some point, they started offering excuses,” Tong said. “You can do just a software update, that will fix it. That didn’t work. We advocated for a recall, they refused. This settlement requires that, for all future vehicles sold in the United States, Hyundai and Kia will install, as part of their standard package, industry engine immobilizer anti-theft technology.”

The technology is linked to the key fob, which means that the car will not start if the smart key is not present.

Connecticut is requiring Kia and Hyundai to provide customers with a free zinc-reinforced engine cylinder protector for vehicles already on the road that are not equipped with the anti-theft technology.

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Connecticut

2 Powerball tickets sold in Connecticut won $50,000

Published

18 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

2 Powerball tickets sold in Connecticut won ,000

There were two $50,000 Powerball winning tickets sold in Connecticut for Monday’s drawing.

The winning numbers were 23-35-59-63-68 and the Powerball was 2.

The Powerplay was X4, but neither ticket had that option.

The tickets matched four white balls and the Powerball.

No information was available on where it was sold.

No one won the jackpot on Monday night, sending it soaring to $1.25 billion for Wednesday’s drawing.

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Connecticut

Opinion: Flavored vapes and Connecticut’s youth: a call for action

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Opinion: Flavored vapes and Connecticut’s youth: a call for action

My generation grew up thinking we would be the ones to bring teen smoking to an end. But then came the cotton candy vapes.

They were, and still are, everywhere you look. Back in middle and high school, I remember friends had them in their backpacks and hoodie sleeves, they even used them in the school bathrooms.

This past summer, I witnessed firsthand the real impact it has had. My friends and I took a girls’ trip, and one day, we decided we wanted to blow up a pool floatie. Given that we didn’t have an air pump, the only option was to do it manually. One of my friends, who has vaped regularly for years, couldn’t get more than three breaths in before giving up. She began coughing and ran out of breath. It was funny for a second…until it wasn’t.

This was the moment that made me realize how this epidemic is hurting the people closest to us.

When e-cigarettes first hit the market, companies claimed that they were safer than smoking real cigarettes and that they would help adults quit smoking, when in reality, they’ve only really done the opposite for young people. Vaping may look harmless because of the fun flavors, names, and colors on the packaging, but the reality of it is way darker. E-cigarette use can lead to cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, and even long term damage to the airways that can make something as simple as inhaling a serious struggle. These devices push harmful chemicals deep into young people’s lungs, disrupting their bodies in ways they’re not even aware of until it’s too late.

A Yale-led study found that one in four Connecticut high school students and one in 30 middle schoolers had already tried vaping. This may not seem like much at first glance, but the fact of the matter is that a vast majority of adolescents know at least one peer who vapes, at the very minimum. A large portion of the teens from the study preferred sweet and fruity flavors, and many students who had never smoked cigarettes before began experimenting with nicotine through vapes, which demonstrates that flavored e-cigarettes are a gateway, not a solution.

The problem is not just about curiosity. The brain is not finished developing until about age 25. This time is critical in the development of areas like attention, memory, and decision making. The CDC mentions that nicotine exposure during these earlier years of development can impair brain chemistry, having outcomes that linger into adulthood.

Despite this, vape companies continue to sell what seems like nicotine candy to minors, disguised in bright packaging and flavors like “blue razz” or “mango blast.” When you think about it, it makes sense that as soon as companies began seeing a decline in sales, they had to figure out a way to create new products that were trendy, tasted good, and addictive.

Our neighboring states, such as New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, have already taken action to address this issue. Massachusetts, for example, passed its 2019 Tobacco Control Law, which banned all flavored nicotine and tobacco products. These states were able to recognize the problem for what it is, a public health emergency. How is it that states just hours away have taken initiative to protect their youth, and Connecticut still hasn’t banned the very flavors that helped hook an entire generation?

While nothing in CT has become law yet, lawmakers have tried. Senate Bill 326, An Act Concerning Flavored Tobacco Products, was designed precisely to restrict the sale of flavored nicotine and vaping products across the state of Connecticut, however, it did not pass. As a result, flavored vapes remain widely available and attractive to younger audiences.

It’s time for that to change. Connecticut should revive, strengthen, and reconsider SB 326 to create a statewide law to ban flavored vapes, mirroring our neighboring states. The law should eliminate all non-tobacco flavors from retail shelves and increase penalties for selling to minors. Taking this step towards better health and a future for our youth would do more than just reduce teen vaping rates, it would also send a clear message that the health and safety of our children are valued and prioritized over the profits of the tobacco industry.

When I think back to that summer afternoon, watching my friend struggle to breathe, I can’t help but feel how preventable it all is. Our generation came so close to ending teen smoking, we never would’ve thought that nicotine would come back disguised as a fruit flavored cloud. If Connecticut wants to protect its minors, it’s time to clear the air once and for all.