On Sunday, May 15, Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) welcomed family, friends, faculty, and the Class of 2022 for the first in-person graduation ceremony since 2019. This year, LPS conferred 385 degrees on graduating students: 76 bachelor’s degrees, including the first-ever class of Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences graduates to walk the stage at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and 309 master’s degrees—the largest group of graduating professional master’s students to date.
In her opening remarks, Vice Dean Nora E. Lewis honored the talents and accomplishments that LPS students bring to our academic community—just one step on their lifelong journey of curiosity, inquiry, and achievement. “We celebrate your development into citizens of the 21st century, continuing to grow and reinvent yourselves,” she addressed the graduates, “knowing—because the doors of wisdom are never shut—that you will never stop learning.”
Steven J. Fluharty, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, recognized the global diversity of the graduating class, as well as their unique resiliency in pursuing knowledge during the challenges of the pandemic. “You have come to us from near and far,” he said. “The past two years required you to tap even more deeply into your reserves of strength, compassion, and agility—and all of you showed even more boldly the remarkable lengths you would go into order to learn.”
This year’s guest speaker, Dr. Sunil Budhrani (C `95), shared his own educational journey, from working in his family’s jewelry store to an active and interdisciplinary undergraduate career at Penn to his medical studies and illustrious career in public health and emergency medicine. He also donned round spectacles and channeled the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin, sprinkling the Penn founder’s aphorisms throughout his personal story. “Life is really a marathon, not a sprint. We should take time to pace ourselves, enjoy our accomplishments, and cherish those around us,” he concludes. “You will accomplish amazing things…. You will make a difference to the communities around you, and maybe the world. But as I share with you my journey, I urge you to ask yourself: Am I happy with my life’s work? Am I taking a moment to enjoy and celebrate these accomplishments?”
We invite you to enjoy and celebrate the accomplishments of our Class of 2022. Several members of the Class of 202 received awards for their leadership, dedication, service, and academic excellence. Take a look at the full list of student award recipients and the faculty members who received 2022 Distinguished Teaching Awards.
View photos from the ceremony on the Graduation 2022 page.
Watch a video of the ceremony.
If you have a problem viewing this video, you can watch it on YouTube.
