Rutgers Board of Governors Approves 2026 University Commencement Speakers

Christopher Markus to address Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers Health; Jonathan Capehart to address Rutgers-Newark; and Antonio D. Tillis to address Rutgers-Camden graduates

Christopher Markus, a Rutgers alumnus and an Emmy Award-winning screenwriter who co-wrote six films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will be awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree when he addresses graduates at the 260th anniversary commencement of Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Rutgers Health on Sunday, May 17, 2026, the Rutgers Board of Governors approved today.

The board also approved an honorary doctor of laws degree for Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who will attend the morning ceremony at SHI Stadium in Piscataway. Rutgers University Student Assembly President Christopher Godoy will deliver remarks to the graduates.

Jonathan Capehart, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and co-anchor of MS NOW's The Weekend, will deliver remarks at Rutgers University-Newark's commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at the Prudential Center in Newark. The board also confirmed an honorary degree of humane letters for Capehart.

The Rutgers University-Camden and Graduate School commencement will be Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion. Chancellor Antonio D. Tillis, an internationally known scholar who has presented his work at universities and academic conferences around the world, will deliver the keynote address at the ceremony.

"We are excited to welcome our keynote speakers, celebrate our honorary degree recipients, and applaud our thousands of graduating students," said Rutgers President William F. Tate IV. "Commencement Week highlights the incredible talent on all our campuses and the impact Rutgers continues to make across New Jersey and around the world."

Christopher Markus

Rutgers alumnus Christopher Markus will address graduates at the 260th anniversary commencement of Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Rutgers Health on Sunday, May 17, 2026.

Christopher Markus arrived at Rutgers in the late '80s with vague aspirations of becoming a writer. Today he is the second-highest grossing screenwriter of all time and one of the most sought-after writers in Hollywood. Markus is best known for his work on six Marvel films, including the box office blockbusters Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), which he co-wrote with screenwriting partner Stephen McFeely.

Born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., he is the son of a mother who worked as a registered nurse and a father who emigrated from Hungary after surviving Nazi persecution, later dedicating 35 years to a career in cancer research.

While studying at Rutgers College, Markus told Rutgers Magazine in 2016 he "took every creative writing course that Rutgers had" and recalls "a lot of encouraging people [at Rutgers] who did not tell me to stop." He graduated in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in English before heading to the University of California at Davis where he met McFeely and earned a master's degree in creative writing in 1996.

Eight years after moving to Los Angeles, the duo gained wide praise for their screenplay for The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), a made-for-TV movie for which they received a Primetime Emmy Award in 2005. They went on to attract the attention of producers with the dark comedy You Kill Me (2007).

During the pair's three-decade collaboration, they have co-written 14 produced films. In addition to their success with MCU films and The Chronicles of Narnia series, they also wrote screenplays for The Electric State (2025), and the true crime film Pain & Gain (2013).

Markus lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Claire Saunders Markus, a writer and casting director, and their daughter.

Governor Mikie Sherrill to Receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree

Gov. Mikie Sherrill will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree at Rutgers' 2026 commencement.

Mikie Sherrill is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Navy helicopter pilot, former federal prosecutor, wife, and mother of four kids. And on Jan. 20, 2026, she became New Jersey's 57th governor - only the second woman to hold that title in our state's history.

Her career has been defined by service to her country and New Jersey, having previously represented New Jersey's 11th Congressional District in Washington, D.C.

Gov. Sherrill was inspired to join the military by her grandfather, a World War II veteran. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1994 - the first class of women eligible for combat roles on ships and aircraft - she spent almost 10 years on active duty in the United States Navy, leading missions throughout Europe and the Middle East as a Sea King helicopter pilot. She worked on the Battle Watch Floor in the European Theater during the Iraq War, served as a flag aide to the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and was a Russian policy officer aiding in the implementation of our nuclear treaty obligations, overseeing the relationship between the U.S. Navy and Russian Federation Navy.

Following her service in the Navy, Gov. Sherrill attended and graduated from law school at Georgetown University. She worked in private practice before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey, first working as an Outreach and Reentry Coordinator and later as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Rutgers-Newark Names Commencement Speaker

Jonathan Capehart will deliver remarks at Rutgers University-Newark's commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 21, 2026.

Jonathan Capehart, long-time MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) co-anchor and PBS NewsHour political analyst and author, will be the keynote speaker at Rutgers University-Newark's commencement ceremony, where he will also receive an honorary degree of humane letters. He has hosted several MS NOW specials including "A Promised Land: A Conversation with Barack Obama," which was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis in 2021, and "Pride of the White House," which earned him a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Journalism - Long Form in 2022.

Capehart grew up in Newark, N.J., where he attended St. Rose of Lima and St. Benedict's Preparatory School.

He previously served as deputy editorial page editor of the New York Daily News from 2002 to 2004 and served on its editorial board from 1993 to 2000. In 1999, his editorial campaign to save the Apollo Theater earned him and the board the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing. Capehart left the Daily News in July 2000 to become the national affairs columnist at Bloomberg News, and he took leave from this position in February 2001 to serve as a policy adviser to Michael Bloomberg in his first successful campaign for New York City Mayor. Capehart also was previously an associate editor and columnist for The Washington Post.

His New York Times best-selling memoir, Yet Here I Am: Lessons from a Black Man's Search for Home, was published by Grand Central Publishing in 2025.

Rutgers-Camden Names Commencement Speaker

Chancellor Antonio D. Tillis will deliver the keynote address at Rutgers University-Camden and Graduate School commencement ceremony, Tuesday, May 19, 2026.

Rutgers University-Camden will hold the Rutgers University-Camden and Graduate School commencement on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion. Chancellor Antonio Tillis, who took the helm of Rutgers-Camden in July 2021, will deliver the keynote address at the ceremony.

Under Tillis' leadership, Rutgers-Camden rose in the U.S. News and World Report rankings in 2025 to #46 in top public schools and #97 in national universities. The university moved up to #65 on the Best Colleges for Veterans list. During Tillis' tenure, Rutgers-Camden also achieved multiple recognitions, including its designation as a Minority Serving Institution (2021) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (2023).

Recently, Tillis launched a new vision strategic plan for Rutgers-Camden: "A Century and Beyond of Excellence, Commitment, and Elevation." He will conclude his tenure as chancellor effective June 30, 2026.

Prior to Rutgers, Tillis served as interim president of the University of Houston-Downtown, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Houston, dean of the School of Languages, Culture and World Affairs at the College of Charleston, chair of African and African American Studies at Dartmouth College and inaugural director of Latin American and Latino Studies Program at Purdue University.

Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, he is a noted scholar in the field of Afro-Hispanic studies and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research in Brazil in 2009. He is the author and coeditor of several books, including Manuel Zapata Olivella and the Darkening of Latin American Literature, The Trayvon Martin in 'US': An American Tragedy (Peter Lang, 2015), The Afro-Hispanic Reader and Anthology (Randal Publishing, 2018), and Critical Perspectives on Afro-Latin American Literature (Routledge, 2012).