CU-Bloomsburg holds spring 2026 commencement ceremonies

Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg celebrated the graduating Class of 2026 during four spring commencement ceremonies, all held in the Nelson Field House. Graduate students were celebrated on Friday, May 15, at 6 p.m. and undergraduate students were recognized in three ceremonies on Saturday, May 16. Students in the College of Health, Sciences and Technology participated in the 9 a.m. ceremony; students in the College of Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences participated in the 1 p.m. ceremony; and students in the Zeigler College of Business and Academic Affairs participated in the 5 p.m. ceremony. 

Nearly 1,200 members of the Class of 2026 received their degrees.

Graduate ceremony speakers included Dr. Heather Feldhaus, associate provost and dean of graduate education; Dr. Michelle Kiec, provost and vice president for academic affairs; John Wetzel, CU Council of Trustees chair; and Dr. Rachel Melnick '01, Boomsburg Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Speakers for the undergraduate ceremonies included Kiec, Melnick, Wetzel, David Gass J.D., Arizona chief judge; Jessica Dodge, student trustee; Chaz Kaszuba, student government association president; Sharonda Diggs, student government association; Robert Thorn, honorary doctor of commercial science degree recipient; and Dr. Jeffery Osgood, CU president.

"Today is not a ceremony about endings. It is a ceremony to celebrate beginnings," Osgood said. "Because every generation gets handed a world that feels unfinished. A little unstable. A little unfair. A little loud. And every generation has to decide the same thing - will it become cynical spectators to history, or authors of a new chapter?"

"So, graduates, when this ceremony ends and the music fades and the photos are posted and the gowns are packed away, the question is not whether you will be successful. All of you will be," Osgood added. "The question is whether your success will make the world colder - or more human."

"You are worthy, not because of your GPA, your resume, or your LinkedIn profile," Gass said. "You are worthy because you bring value that existed long before this ceremony and will continue long after it. The world will make you question yourself. People will underestimate you. Your confidence will take hits. Do not confuse those moments with your worth."

"Our time at this institution has provided us the foundation on which to build upon in the years to come," Dodge said. "It is up to us to make the most of what we have been given. I implore you all to see each day as an opportunity to make a difference. To learn, grow, help others. It's what we are made to do: to make a difference in the lives of our friends, families, communities, our country, our world."