President Judd Announces 2021 Commencement Speaker Congressman Jamaal Bowman

Sofia Aguilar ‘21

Via The Cut, “Why Jamaal Bowman’s Congressional Run Feels So Significant”

On March 30, President Cristle Collins Judd announced Congressman Jamaal Bowman as the commencement speaker for this year’s graduation ceremony. 

Bowman currently represents New York’s 16th District in Congress, which includes Bronxville and Yonkers. According to Judd’s announcement, “he aims to shape and pass policy that infuses climate justice with economic and racial justice.”

Prior to his political career, “Bowman embarked on a career as a crisis intervention teacher in the Bronx and later earned a master’s degree in guidance counseling from Mercy College and a doctorate in education from Manhattanville,” Judd said. 

Bowman also worked for 10 years as a principal in a Bronx middle school and has been an outspoken critic of standardized testing, which he argues keeps working-class families out of higher education and maintains the school-to-prison pipeline. 

After running a successful congressional campaign in 2020, in which Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and others endorsed him, he has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 3 of this year. 

He serves as the Vice Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor and also serves on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

His announcement as commencement speaker is a departure from the usual Sarah Lawrence tradition of appointing alumni but Bowman has no doubt made notable contributions to his field, which is the other unofficial requirement of appointing a commencement speaker. 

The news comes after days of talks between the administration and seniors, behind-the-scenes planning by the commencement committee, and Judd’s announcement on March 11 that the College’s 93rd Commencement would be held “virtually and livestreamed to allow all students and their families and friends to participate.” 

In her March 30 email, Judd further clarified that the celebration would offer opportunities for in-person and hybrid events on campus. The following day, Sarah Lawrence’s Virtual Events Producer Leslie Lone emailed a full schedule of commencement events to seniors, who can register to attend through MySLC. 

The commencement ceremony for the Class of 2021 will take place on May 14.