Raise a glass to the class of 2026, hear from selected student speakers and celebrate our award winners! Alumni, students, faculty and staff are all invited to celebrate our community's achievements at our kickoff reception.

Please bring your government-issued I.D. to enjoy an alcoholic beverage at the bar. 
Directions to Market Square

More about the Community Celebration

Don't miss Campus Dance where alumni, students, families, faculty and staff can dance the night away under paper lanterns lighting the skies on the College Green and Simmons Quad. 

Ticketing

As part of Brown’s commitment to community safety and security, a new ticketing system for the 2026 Commencement and Reunion Weekend will be implemented that will include controlled access to campus buildings and outdoor spaces around the College Green.

All members of the community, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, guests and vendors, will be required to show the appropriate access bands or badges to access the College Green area and other campus locations throughout the weekend.

Purchase Campus Dance tickets

Join us for a moderated panel discussion of interdisciplinary perspectives on the current maternal and reproductive health crisis in the U.S. and strategies for building a future that values and supports maternal and reproductive health.

Led by the co-directors of the Advancing Impact on Maternal and Reproductive Health (AIM) Lab at the School of Public Health, Liz Tobin-Tyler, J.D., M.A., professor of health services, policy and practice and Dara Kass, M.D., adjunct professor of health services, policy and practice.

Panelists:

• Nancy Northup ’81, President and CEO, Center for Reproductive Rights
• Emma Roth ’12, Senior Counsel, Reproductive Futures
• Neel Shah ’04, ’09 M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Maven Clinic and Founder, March for Moms
• Kate Shaw ’01, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
• Kimá Joy Taylor ’91, ’95 M.D., Co-Founder of Doing Right By Birth and Founder of Anka Consulting

Sponsored by the School of Public Health and the Friends of the Pembroke Center.

Biostatistics alumni, students, faculty and staff are invited to celebrate 2026 graduates from the Statistics Concentration, as well as the department's masters and doctoral programs. Awards will be distributed and light refreshments will be served.

This event is only open to Biostatistics alumni, students and families, faculty and staff.

RSVP

Join the Friends of the Pembroke Center for a panel discussion examining legislative, political, and cultural pressures shaping the future of research on gender and sexuality. Experts from public health and the biological sciences will consider strategies for advocacy and protecting vital research in uncertain times.

Panelists:

• Gray Babbs, Ph.D. candidate, Health Services, Policy, and Practice, School of Public Health
• Katie Biello, Provost’s Professor of Epidemiology and Behavioral and Social Sciences, School of Public Health
• Anne Fausto-Sterling, Nancy Duke Lewis Professor Emerita of Biology
• Shufang Sun, associate professor of behavioral and social sciences and psychiatry and human behavior, School of Public Health

Find out more about this event

Sponsored by the Friends of the Pembroke Center and the School of Public Health

The HES and NextGen Scholar communities are invited to a landmark event! Join us to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of our program and to honor the Health Equity & NextGen Scholars Class of 2026 at their official Stole Ceremony. This special gathering is a moment to recognize our scholars' incredible dedication and to reflect on five years of advancing equity in public health. 

This event is at full capacity and RSVPs are closed.

This celebratory event serves as the formal recognition of our graduates' hard work and dedication to the field of public health. To attend, all graduating students must reserve tickets through Tassel, which can then be shared with their guests.

Pre-Ceremony Reception

Join us at the venue from 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. for light refreshments before the Ceremony.

RISD Grad Show

The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Grad Show will be next door to our ceremony and opens at noon; admission is free. If your schedule allows, you can check out the show in Hall D in the Rhode Island Convention Center. The RISD Grad Show is a massive public exhibition of work by students about to earn their RISD master’s degrees.

Getting to the Rhode Island Convention Center

Shuttle Bus

Two shuttle buses will run loops between College Hill and the RICC on the following schedule:

• 2 - 3:30 p.m.: Corner of Brown Street/Angell Street (Hillel) to Rhode Island Convention Center
• 5 - 5:45 p.m.: Rhode Island Convention Center to the corner of Brown Street/Waterman Street

Parking

Ample parking is available at the North Garage at 99 West Exchange St. The garage is open 24 hours a day and offers direct access to the Convention Center.

Ceremony Livestream

To enjoy the ceremony from afar, consider tuning in for the event livestream.