Graduation 2023

Please join us for Graduation on the lawn in front of 77 Sherman St. The procession of graduates, faculty, and board members will begin promptly at 3:30 p.m. with a reception to follow the ceremony. We encourage friends and family to arrive by 3 p.m. to secure parking and find a place under the tent. Graduates are asked to arrive at 2:45 p.m. to report to their robing rooms at 77 Sherman St.

Our special guest and featured speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Paul Smith, a civil rights veteran, minister, educator, author, and diversity role model. He is also an HIU alum, graduating in 1960 with a Bachelor's of Divinity.

With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.and Ambassador Andrew Young '55 as friends and mentors, Rev. Dr. Paul Smith entered the ministry after graduating. He soon became a stalwart marcher in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Inspired and guided by theologian and mystic Dr. Howard Thurman, Rev. Dr. Smith has made diversity and inclusiveness hallmarks of his life’s work. His biography, written by Dr. Hildi Hendrickson, is Building Beloved Communities: The Life and Work of Rev. Dr. Paul Smith. 

Parking will be in HIU lots and designated areas, as well as on several neighborhood streets where parking is unrestricted. A livestream will be broadcast to the HIU Facebook page.

We look forward to seeing graduates, their family and friends, students, alumni, and special guests. All are welcome!

If you need special accommodations to attend the ceremony, please email Joseph Chung, events coordinator, at jchung@hartfordinternational.edu