SHU Announces 2026 Commencement Speakers

Leaders in public service, humanitarian work and technology to address graduates

Key Highlights

• Sacred Heart University will hold 2026 commencement ceremonies on May 7 and May 9 in Bridgeport
• Four distinguished leaders, from public service, humanitarian work, higher education and technology, will serve as keynote speakers
• All speakers will receive honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees 

Sacred Heart University will host commencement ceremonies May 7 and 9 to confer degrees upon the class of 2026. Governor Ned Lamont, Sister Norma Pimentel, Alexander Clark and the Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, SJ, will deliver keynote addresses, and each will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, honorary degree.

Graduate ceremony

The Rev. von Arx, president emeritus of Fairfield University, will deliver the keynote address at the University’s graduate ceremony at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport on Thursday, May 7, at 10 a.m.

Undergraduate ceremonies

Lamont, the 89th governor of Connecticut, and Sister Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, will address undergraduate students from the College of Arts & Sciences, Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing and the Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport on Saturday, May 9, at 10 a.m.

Clark, founder and chief executive officer of Technolutions, will deliver the keynote address to undergraduate students in the College of Health Professions and the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport on Saturday, May 9, at 3 p.m.

Speakers

Alexander Clark

Clark is the founder and chief executive officer of Technolutions. He founded the company in 1994 while a seventh grader in Mississippi, and in 2000, as a first-year English major at Yale University, developed and introduced Slate. Today, Slate supports enrollment, student success, alumni and advancement operations at more than 2,000 colleges and universities worldwide.

Beyond his work in technology, Alexander is an active philanthropist and civic leader with a deep commitment to education, the arts and the vitality of his community. He is the founder of Slate School, a nonprofit K–12 independent school in North Haven, situated on a 40-acre campus and dedicated to cultivating creativity, fostering ingenuity and curiosity and inspiring a lifelong love of learning.

Ned Lamont

Lamont is the 89th governor of Connecticut, first sworn into office in 2019 and beginning his second term in 2023. He has built a career spanning public service, business and education. Early in his career, he founded a weekly newspaper to support a community facing economic hardship, later serving on the Greenwich Board of Selectmen and Board of Estimate and Taxation.

In the private sector, Lamont founded a telecommunications company that grew to serve more than 400 college campuses and 1 million students nationwide. He has also remained committed to education and community engagement, volunteering as a teacher in Bridgeport and serving as an adjunct professor at Central Connecticut State University. Throughout his career, Lamont has worked across sectors to advance economic development, education and public service initiatives.

Sister Norma Pimentel

Sister Norma Pimentel is executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, where she oversees a wide range of social service programs, including homeless prevention, disaster relief, clinical counseling and humanitarian assistance. With more than 20 years of experience, she has become one of the most recognized humanitarian leaders in the United States.

In 2014, Pimentel helped establish the Humanitarian Respite Center in response to an influx of immigrants at the southern border. The center has since become the largest of its kind in the country, serving more than half a million individuals. Known for her advocacy and compassion, she continues to emphasize the dignity and humanity of those she serves. Pimentel holds degrees in fine arts, theology and pastoral counseling and has received multiple honorary doctorates.

The Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, SJ

Von Arx is president emeritus of Fairfield University, where he served as president and professor of history from 2004 to 2017. During his tenure, he oversaw a period of significant growth in enrollment, academic quality, campus facilities and institutional reputation.

Before Fairfield, he served as dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill and held faculty and leadership roles at Georgetown University, where he chaired the history department and founded the Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies. A scholar of modern British Catholic history, von Arx has published extensively and continues to teach as a visiting professor at Boston College. He has also served on the boards of several Jesuit universities and contributed to accreditation efforts in higher education.