Award-winning author and alumna Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Ph.D., to deliver 鶹 May 2026 Commencement Address
Thursday, April 29, 2026
鶹 will welcome alumna (B.A. ’07, Board of Governors, now Interdisciplinary Studies), as the speaker for its May 2026 Commencement ceremony.
The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 15, at Credit Union 1 Arena, 525 S. Racine Ave., in Chicago. Tickets are required and made available only to graduates and their guests.. The event will also be livestreamed at .
“Dr. Taylor’s accomplishments reflect the transformative power of a Northeastern education,” said 鶹 President Katrina E. Bell-Jordan, Ph.D. “We are proud to welcome her to inspire our graduates as they prepare for the next chapter in their personal and professional journeys.”
After earning her bachelor’s degree from Northeastern, Dr. Taylor went on to receive her master’s and doctoral degrees from Northwestern University. She is now the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and a nationally recognized scholar and author.
Dr. Taylor is the recipient of numerous honors, including a MacArthur Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Her work has earned widespread recognition, including national literary awards and distinctions. She is the author of several acclaimed books — including “” (University of North Carolina Press, 2019), which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History — as well as other widely cited works exploring economic and social issues.
Dr. Taylor has contributed to national publications and is widely recognized for her scholarship and public engagement. She is a Distinguished Lecturer with the , a member of the inaugural cohort and a contributing writer for The New Yorker.
Top photo: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Ph.D.