Connecticut
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
LYME — A body was recovered from the Connecticut River on Saturday, according to officials from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
At about 1 p.m., a vessel on the river reported seeing a body in the area of the Chester-Lyme Ferry, DEEP said.
The Environmental Conservation Police, along with the Connecticut State Police Major Crimes Unit and Lyme and Cheshire fire departments, responded to the area and recovered the body, DEEP said. The body has been sent to the state chief medical examiner, DEEP said.
Bill Flood, a media relations manager for DEEP, said the body was identified as a male and appeared to have been in the water for an extended period of time.
The medical examiner will determine the manner of death and EnCon is investigating, Flood said, noting there is no believed threat to the public.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Even as a born-and-raised New Yorker, I have a relatively open mind when it comes to pizza. When I’m out on the road, I’ll eat at any pizzeria as long as I can see the oven from the counter and buy pizza by the slice. However, the idea of any place outside the Big Apple proclaiming itself “the Pizza Capital of the United States” is just sacrilege. Connecticut doubled down on its ludicrous claim last weekend by approving the rollout of a special “Pizza State” license plate. This is the worst affront to the craft since Chicagoans started shilling their crust-bowl casserole as pizza.
Connecticut Foodshare
Let’s actually take a look at this license plate. One peek, we all know the rules. “The Pizza State” plate features a similar blue-to-white gradient as on the standard Connecticut license plate. The aforementioned self-proclaimed moniker replaces the state’s official nickname, “The Constitution State,” beneath the plate number. To the right of the number is an image of a pizza slice ripped straight from Microsoft’s ClipArt library. It’s a flat image that looks nothing like what’s served in New Haven. Connecticut drivers will be able to pick up a “Pizza State” plate for $65.
This is a pizza war for good
The only undisputedly good aspect of the “Pizza State” license plate is that its introduction will help feed Connecticut’s hungry. According to CT Insider, the $28.6 billion budget bill approved by the Connecticut General Assembly last weekend, which authorized the plate, also directly appropriated funding to Connecticut Foodshare. The sitewide food bank will also receive $50 from each $65 license plate fee, as it continues to provide millions of free meals to food-insecure people.
Back to the pizza debate at the heart of the matter. Governor Ned Lamont declared Connecticut the country’s pizza capital back in 2024 as part of a marketing campaign to promote the state. That declaration could have grounds for war in a different century, but individual states apparently don’t fight wars against each other anymore. Connecticut had better go back to being a UConn Husky-obsessed suburb before New York makes Greenwich the next Toledo.
Connecticut
Suspect in preppy booze-fueled Connecticut party stabbing death asks court to drop charges: ‘Double jeopardy’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The attorney for a Connecticut man who was recently acquitted of first-degree murder charges stemming from a booze-fueled brawl between prep school students is making another move to ensure his client’s freedom.
Last July, a jury found Raul Valle, now 19, not guilty of murder and intentional manslaughter in the May 14, 2022 stabbing death of James “Jimmy” McGrath. Valle was 16 at the time of the incident, and McGrath was 17.
The jury was deadlocked on lesser charges of reckless manslaughter in that trial, leading to a partial mistrial.
Valle attended St. Joseph High School in Trumbull, near Fairfield Prep, where McGrath was a junior and star lacrosse player. Prior to the stabbing that evening, both had been at a house party that involved underage drinking and a fight.
DEADLOCKED JURORS IN PREP SCHOOL LACROSSE PLAYER’S KILLING A ‘GREAT SIGN’ FOR DEFENSE: EXPERT
Split image of Jimmy McGrath showing him in a collared shirt and tie and in his Fairfield College Preparatory School lacrosse uniform. (The McGrath Family)
After heading to another location to continue partying, tempers flared again and about 25 people engaged in another brawl on the front lawn of the second home, whose owners were present at the time, witnesses told police. It was during that fight that the stabbing death occurred.
Valle admitted to the stabbing, but said it was committed in self-defense and in defense of a friend.
The day after Valle’s July 9, 2025, acquittal on the most serious charges, the state filed new reckless manslaughter and reckless assault charges.
Raul Valle speaks during his second day of testimony at his murder trial in state Superior Court in Milford, Conn., on July 1, 2025. (Ned Gerard/Connecticut Post)
TEXAS JURY RETURNS VERDICT IN 2022 STABBING DEATH OF HIGH SCHOOL CLASSMATE: REPORT
Now, Valle’s attorney, Darnell Crosland, has filed a motion claiming that the reckless manslaughter and reckless assault charges constitute double jeopardy, which is unconstitutional, according to The Connecticut Post.
Crosland’s motion says the only explanation for the initial jury’s decision to acquit on the first-degree murder charge was that his client acted in self-defense.
“No other theory explains the acquittals,” he wrote in the motion.
KAREN READ LOSES DOUBLE JEOPARDY APPEAL IN BOSTON COP SLAYING CASE, WILL RECEIVE NEW TRIAL
Defense attorney Kevin Smith delivers his closing arguments to the jury during Raul Valle’s murder trial in state Superior Court in Milford, Conn., on July 3, 2025. (Ned Gerard/Connecticut Post)
“The jury has spoken,” he continued. “The law is clear. The court must dismiss these charges with prejudice — immediately.”
The Connecticut Post reported that in an interview after Valle’s acquittal, the jury foreperson said self-defense was not discussed.
In their own filing, prosecutors disagreed with Crosland’s reasoning, according to the report.
ACCUSED AUSTIN METCALF KILLER WON’T FACE DEATH PENALTY OR LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE: DA
They described self-defense as a “justification defense,” not one that is central to the elements of the charges Valle still faces, and thus, cannot be used as an argument to have the current charges dismissed.
Kevin McGrath, father of slain prep school lacrosse player Jimmy McGrath, speaks to reporters outside the state Superior Court in Milford, Connecticut, following Raul Valle’s acquittal on July 9, 2025. He is accompanied by family attorney Michael Rosnick. (Fox News)
“The fact that the jury acquitted the defendant of murder, intentional manslaughter and intentional assaults, but could not reach a unanimous verdict as to the reckless charges, demonstrates only that the jury must have reached the conclusion that the defendant lacked the specific intent to either kill or to cause serious physical injury,” the filing reportedly said.
McGrath’s family was shocked by the results of the 2025 trial.
“I’m astonished at the results, but, you know, it’s due process,” a stoic Kevin McGrath said outside the state Superior Court in Milford, Connecticut, later describing his son as a “wonderful person.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“He’s entitled to it,” said McGrath. “And at the end of the day, the jury made their verdict. I’m not sure if, you know, they were in the same courtroom as we all were together, but that’s the verdict. And we’ll live with it.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Crosland for comment.
-
Arizona1 minute agoDrowning happens in seconds, Arizona safety experts warn as triple-digit temperatures arrive this week
-
Arkansas7 minutes agoOklahoma Responds Well But Collapses Late to Drop Series With Arkansas
-
California13 minutes agoTwo GOP candidates for California governor participate in Bakersfield forum
-
Colorado19 minutes agoColorado man sentenced to over 40 years in prison for murder of ex-girlfriend
-
Connecticut25 minutes agoBody recovered from Connecticut River near Chester-Lyme Ferry, DEEP says
-
Delaware31 minutes agoFormer Delaware police officer accused of raping woman he met on dating app
-
Florida37 minutes agoFlorida man taken into custody related to call threatening business
-
Georgia43 minutes ago
Leschber Named to 2026 ACC All-Tournament Team
