On May 18, more than 3,500 family members, friends, mentors, and supporters joined Willamette’s Class of 2025 to celebrate the graduates’ achievements during commencement ceremonies held in Salem and Portland.
Over 400 graduates from Willamette College, Atkinson Graduate School of Management, School of Law, and the Pacific Northwest College of Art received their degrees and joined the nearly 40,000 members of the Willamette alumni community.
While the ceremonies celebrated the achievements of the doers, thinkers, and makers who earned their degrees, the graduates were also challenged to lead the future in a way that represents the values of their Willamette education.
“Go forth and transform this chaotic, beautiful world,” Willamette University President Steve Thorsett told graduates of Willamette College in Salem. “Make it more just, more sustainable, more humane. And remember your duty to rebuild, restore, and reimagine the institutions that safeguard our freedoms and bind us together as a society. Class of 2025, I believe in you.”
To the 2025 graduates of the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Thorsett urged: “Use your art to shine a spotlight on truth, create moments of reflection and inspire us to action. In times like these, we need artists, writers, performers, and designers to be empowered to help us think, reflect and to help us imagine a better and brighter future — one that promotes inclusion, equity, social justice and sustainability.”
Now, empowered by their Willamette education, the university’s newest alumni will be ready to take on the biggest challenges facing the region and the world as they begin their lifelong journey of turning knowledge into action.
