Reunions and Commencement – Princeton University’s traditional, year-ending one-two punch – are just around the corner, and, as usual, the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs will play a big role in both.
Starting Thursday, May 21, and continuing through Sunday the 24th, Reunions will welcome graduates back to campus for a variety of social and educational activities. The SPIA alumni community will be well represented, partnering with the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni as the University’s largest participating graduate department.
In addition to welcoming hundreds of its graduates back to campus for reminiscing and fun, the School will have many of its alumni and faculty members participating on discussion panels on a wide variety of current topics.
The faculty participants include Princeton SPIA Dean Amaney Jamal, who will serve as a panelist on a #PrincetonStar Forum – a discussion featuring graduate alumni – entitled “Governing Beyond the Headlines.” The forum will be Friday, May 22, from 1 to 2 p.m. in Robertson Hall’s Arthur Lewis Auditorium.
In addition:
- Shannon Hiller, MPA ’15, the executive director of the Bridging Divides Institute, will be a panelist on the #PrincetonStar Forum “Adapting to Risk Using Early Detection and Foresight,” scheduled for May 22 from 10 to 11 a.m. in McCosh Hall 28.
- Martin S. Flaherty ’81, a Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor, will moderate a discussion entitled “The Campus and the Constitution: Free Speech, Civil Discourse, and Academic Freedom,” scheduled for May 22 from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. in McCosh Hall 10.
- Jacob N. Shapiro, the John Foster Dulles Professor in International Affairs and the School’s vice dean for strategic initiatives, will moderate the forum “Shifting Global Powers: What Comes Next?,” scheduled for May 22 from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. in Lewis Auditorium.
- Arvind Narayanan, director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, will be in conversation with Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith ’81 on the topic “The Social Impact of AI,” scheduled for May 22 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Commons, Multipurpose Room-D301.
- Layna Mosley, a professor of politics and international affairs, will be a panelist for “The Domestic and International Political Economy of Sovereign Debt,” scheduled for May 22 from 1:45 to 3:15 p.m. in Robertson Hall Bowl 016.
- Aaron L. Friedberg, a professor of politics and international affairs, will present a lecture, “America’s Future World Role,” scheduled for May 22 from 2 to 3 p.m. in Corwin Hall 127.
- Nolan McCarty, the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, will moderate the forum “Does Every Vote Count? The Future of U.S. Elections,” scheduled for May 22 from 2 to 3:15 p.m. in McCosh Hall 50.
- Deborah Pearlstein, director of the Princeton Program in Law and Public Policy and the Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor of Law and Public Affairs, will moderate the P*LAW lecture “Challenges to the Rule of Law,” scheduled for May 22 from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. in Robertson Hall Bowl 001.
- Mosley will moderate the forum “The New Rules of Global Commerce: Tariffs, Trade, and the Future of Business,” scheduled for May 22 from 3:45 to 5 p.m. in McCosh Hall 50.
- Jennifer Jennings ’00, the Class of 1988 Professor in Domestic Policy and Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, will moderate the panel discussion “Princeton in the Service of Public Education,” scheduled for May 23 from 8 to 10 a.m. in Robertson Hall Bowl 016.
The School will also host an alumni reception on May 22 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Robertson Hall’s Dodds Atrium and Shultz Dining Room, and a brunch for major reunion classes – those ending in 1 and 6 – on May 24 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in Shultz.
Princeton SPIA’s Commencement activities begin concurrently with the major reunions brunch, with the School hosing the annual graduation brunch of the Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative in Louis Simpson Atrium on the 24th at 10 a.m.
Princeton SPIA’s hooding ceremony, for graduates of the MPP and MPA programs, will be Monday, May 25, at 10 a.m. in McCarter Theatre. The MPA class comprises 70 graduates, while 20 students will earn their MPPs. Speakers include Jamal; Steven Petric, assistant dean for global outreach, admissions, and alumni engagement; and Benton Coblentz and Mackenzie Hempe, the outgoing chairs of the Princeton University Policy Student Government.
At 2 p.m. that afternoon in Richardson Auditorium, the School will hold its Class Day ceremony, celebrating the 135 bachelor’s degree recipients and honoring the winners of prizes and awards. Jamal and Preston Ferraiuolo ’26 will speak.
Princeton University’s Commencement is Tuesday, May 26, at Princeton Stadium, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Photo: Celebrating the Class of 2025 at the 2025 SPIA Hooding Ceremony.