In her Commencement address, poet and cultural critic Claudia Rankine acknowledged the uncertain times we live in and urged the graduating class to “always remember this major achievement” and, in the face of difficulty, to “hold on to your power, your freedoms, your voice.”
The May 20 Commencement honored the class of 2025 with a ceremony in the striking setting of Radio City Music Hall. The momentous gathering recognized one of Pratt’s largest ever graduating classes, with over 1,400 dedicated and accomplished students joining the ranks of Pratt’s vibrant alumni community.
The 136th Commencement was also live-streamed for those celebrating remotely. Nina Kulikov, BFA Fine Arts (Painting) ’25, and Tempe Munach, BFA Fine Arts (Painting) ’25, performed an instrumental rendition of Pratt’s alma mater on the piano and violin, setting the stage before Pratt President Frances Bronet’s opening remarks.
President Bronet greeted the audience and marked the day as a magnificent moment of celebration. “Today we recognize you—the remarkable students who have distinguished yourselves through leadership, soaring imagination, academic achievements, and service to the greater Pratt community,” she said. “You are the purveyors of aesthetic scholarship, professional knowledge, collaborative skills, and technical expertise.” She closed her remarks by expressing gratitude for the faculty as well as the families, friends, caregivers, and loved ones who have been a guiding force, supporting the graduates on their paths to where they are today.
Board of Trustees Chair Gary Hattem spoke from his personal experience as a Pratt alumnus, extolling the lifelong value of connections formed at Pratt and encouraging students to cherish and sustain those relationships with peers and professors beyond graduation.
Pratt then bestowed honorary degrees upon three leaders in their fields whose work embodies the innovation and creativity fostered by the Institute, including Rankine (Doctor of Letters), renowned architect Annabelle Selldorf, BArch ’85 (Doctor of Fine Arts), and visionary designer and typographer Stefan Sagmeister, MFA Communications Design ’98 (Doctor of Fine Arts).
In her Commencement address, Rankine urged students to hold on to their freedom of speech in the face of injustice and underscored the power of creativity to propel us forward during these challenging times. “Your creativity, your imagination, your intelligence is your secret strength,” she said.
Rankine talked about words as her tool for reflecting reality and about the forces that now tell us to “cover our eyes” instead. “My work has simply been the desire to both recognize and call forward a human world,” she said. “But now we’re being told no to reality. The words are being told no.” She encouraged students to have courage: “It is your right to speak, your inalienable right to speak out,” she said.
“Looking out at all of you, I understand you as my best chance for a better world, not because you’re about to be graduates, but because you’re about to be Pratt graduates,” she said. “People who understand knowledge and creativity with critical thinking will take us beyond this moment.”
In accepting his honorary degree, alumnus Sagmeister spoke of the lessons that have stuck with him over the years. “The reason why I’m able to actually learn things from my own life is because I had the very, very, very best teachers,” he said, acknowledging current and former Pratt Graduate Communications Design faculty members Alisa Zamir, Kevin Gatta, and Tony DiSpigna.
“It is with profound gratitude and absolute wonder that I stand here to receive this honor,” said Selldorf upon accepting her honorary degree. She congratulated students on their achievement, and noted its lasting impact. “Pratt offered me a head start like it did for you, and that matters for a lifetime,” she said.
Speakers also included Frank Franca, adjunct assistant professor of undergraduate communications design, who earned the Distinguished Teacher Award (2025–26) and was honored with a medal designed by Hayden Holmes, BFA Fine Arts (Jewelry) ’26.
Valeria Zhikharevich, BFA Communications Design ’25, and Victoria Forbes, BFA/MA Art and Design Education ’25, were the student speakers. Jazz arrangements of Sir Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance and Jeremiah Clarke’s Prince of Denmark’s March—developed specially for Pratt’s Commencement by Juilliard graduate Evan Harris—were performed live by a jazz nonet during the processional and recessional.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the class of 2025 spilled out of the historic venue and into the bustling heart of Manhattan, accompanied by friends and family as they began their next chapter as Pratt alumni.
More photographs from Commencement are below and on the Pratt site. Follow @PrattInstitute on Instagram and the hashtag #PrattGrad25 to see more from this milestone event.
