Chair of the NYU Board of Trustees Evan Chesler at Commencement 2024

Greetings, Class of 2024!

As the Chair of NYU’s Board of Trustees and as a proud two-time alumnus of NYU, it is my great privilege to welcome you to the Grand Theater for NYU Shanghai’s commencement ceremony.

Welcome, distinguished guests and speakers, NYU leadership, colleagues, family, and friends. It is an honor to be here. 

Prior to addressing you today, I reflected on my own time at NYU so many years ago.

I was a history major, and I recall the discourse that yielded insights about the world around us. Professors who prompted me to think critically and to ask big questions. Classmates from different walks of life who opened my eyes to new ideas. These moments shaped the way I think and helped form an outlook that I have brought to my career and my life ever since my time here as a student. 

Class of 2024, today we celebrate your completion of rigorous courses of study at a leading global research university. As you take pride in your tremendous achievements, and enjoy today’s most well-deserved and magnificent celebration, I urge you to reflect on your own profound moments of discovery and connection, that will stay with you wherever you go.

Know that you carry with you the pride of the Trustees, the faculty, your fellow classmates, and the entire University. And I’m sure you carry the pride of your families who have helped you arrive at this moment.

Today you are also poised to join the ranks of  more than 650,000 alumni from around the world, as you embark on a new, lifelong relationship with NYU. I can say firsthand that it is a meaningful and enduring bond.

Congratulations to you all, and I wish you the best!