HIU Celebrates First Graduation with New Name

Sixty-two students graduated from degree and certificate programs on Friday, May 13, becoming the first under the name Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (formerly Hartford Seminary). 

"Graduates, you are tenacious and inspiring," President Joel N. Lohr said in his welcome address. Your achievement today has come with a great deal of hard work and hardship. ... You are being etched into a long and important history. You are part of something special in this country and in this world."

The ceremony, the first in-person since 2019, was an opportunity to gather and celebrate the accomplishments of the graduating students. This year's graduation speaker was Civil Rights legend Ambassador Rev. Andrew Young '55, who also received a Lifetime Advocate for Religion and Peace award. Ambassador Young was introduced by Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum '00, another alum at the top of the list of Americans fighting for racial justice.

In introducing Ambassador Young, Dr. Tatum said, "he has been an messenger of global peace for decades and an inspiration to generations of young people following in this footsteps."

Ambassador Young has a long history of leadership in the United States, including as a right-hand man to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the fight for Civil Rights, as a two-term U.S. Congressman, as Mayor of Atlanta, and as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations during the Carter Administration. He has also spent many years working for economic development across Africa. He also continues to serve as a minister in Atlanta.

In his address, Ambassador Young faced the graduates and talked about his experience after moving to Hartford in 1951 and living on the then-Hartford Seminary campus as an employee of the National Council of Churches. He was intrigued by the international nature of the place and asked if he could sit in on a few classes, which led to the offer of a scholarship. That changed his life.

"I learned more than I ever learned before," he said, which eventually led him to the Civil Rights movement and his work with Dr. King.

"I walked on this campus not knowing why or where or what was going to happen," he said. "But I had an educational experience that, I think, very few people in any institution, anywhere the world can match. ... I thank you for giving me my start. This is a relay race, and I don't have a baton, but if I did have a hundred batons, I'd throw them to you all."

The graduation ceremony also featured music from the Sherman Street Band, a group of MA in International Peacebuilding students who came together this year to perform and produce original music. 

Watch the entire graduation ceremony below.