College of Social Science celebrates Class of 2026 at Commencement ceremony
May 6, 2026 - Emily Jodway Patyna
Photos by Jacqueline Hawthorne.
Students graduating from the College of Social Science were honored with their degrees at the 2026 undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 2. Over 10,000 students graduated this weekend from Michigan State University baccalaureate, master’s, doctoral and professional programs.
Dean Brent Donnellan gave his opening remarks and personal congratulations to the graduates inside the Breslin Center to kick off the ceremony Friday night. MSU Trustee Rebecca Bahar-Cook also gave remarks. Among the College of Social Science graduates, Dean Donnellan said, “We have superheroes and advocates, historians and economists … social workers and psychologists, anthropologists, agents of change, leaders of the future.”
A total of 45 Social Science students graduating with a perfect 4.0 GPA were recognized with the Board of Trustees’ Award for Academic Excellence. Kaylin Casper, winner of the 2026 Featherstone Award, was officially presented with the award by MSU Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Mark Largent. Casper graduates with degrees in sociology, humanities - prelaw and women’s & gender studies, with minors in American Indian & Indigenous Studies, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and sexuality studies and peace and justice studies.
This year’s College of Social Science Outstanding Teacher Award honoree, Professor of Economics Stacy Dickert-Conlin, received her award and also spoke to graduates. Dickert-Conlin has been with the Department of Economics for over 20 years and teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in Economics.
“As you step into your next adventure, use your degree along with your Spartan experience to keep listening and learning and making choices that make you happy, choices that challenge you to stay engaged, and choices that keep you surrounded by people who will cheer you on,” Dickert-Conlin said to graduates.
Jaida Gouldbourne was this year's student commencement speaker. Gouldbourne graduates with a degree in Criminal Justice and was a member of the Honors College and College of Social Science Scholars Program during her time at Michigan State.
The theme of Gouldbourne’s commencement speech is ‘Rising with Purpose: Turning Challenge into Calling.’ She spoke of her experiences at Michigan State allowing her to discover her voice and of lessons in perseverance, selflessness and faith. The Class of 2026, she said in her speech, was “Evidence that a challenge can turn into a calling, and that purpose will always find its way forward if it is pursued with courage and faith.”
“As we leave Michigan State, let us not only take with us our degrees but also our responsibility to act honorably, rise with a purpose, and make significant investments in the people and causes that are important,” she said. “Because when we do, we contribute to the creation of a more compassionate, just, and hopeful world in addition to changing our own lives.”