From left: Physicist Daniel Berg '50, retired U.S. Army Lt.-Gen. Russel Honoré, and Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander are honorary doctoral degree recipients at CCNY's 2026 Commencement.
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant-General Russel L. Honoré, who gained national renown in 2005 for his command of Joint Task Force-Katrina, and physicist Daniel Berg, a 1950 alumnus widely recognized for his work in the management of technology and innovation, will receive honorary doctoral degrees from The City College of New York’s 173rd Commencement exercises on Friday, May 29. Lt.-Gen. Honoré will also deliver the keynote address.
Also at the ceremony, Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the City University of New York for her commitment to promoting the arts and humanities in society, particularly her efforts to expand access to the arts and education for diverse communities.
CCNY President Vincent G. Boudreau will deliver the commencement address to the Class of 2026 on the South Campus Great Lawn at 10 a.m. EDT.
This year’s graduating class includes 3,542 students, of whom 2,163 are candidates for bachelor’s degrees.
Following are brief biographies of the honorees.
About Russel L. Honoré
Honoré will receive the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in recognition of his extensive military career and service to the nation, his striking leadership style, his success in planning, supporting and implementing disaster relief, his commitment to achieving what many may consider to be the impossible, and his continuing efforts to instill confidence in tomorrow’s leaders.
Over the course of his 37-year military career, Honoré served in a variety of command and staff positions which focused on defense support to civil authorities and homeland defense, including responses to hurricanes and floods, and has received numerous awards and decorations for his service. He became known as “The Category 5 General” for his striking leadership style in coordinating military relief efforts. Since his retirement from the military in 2008, Honoré continues to speak and consult nationally on the subject of building a culture of preparedness, focusing on the challenges of providing sufficient food and clean water to a burgeoning world population of seven to 10 billion people.
About Daniel Berg
Berg will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Science in recognition of his extraordinary career, which spanned both the private sector and academia, his commitment to understanding and explaining the relationship of technology and society, and for his dedication to educational excellence, imparting his expertise to generations of scientists for the betterment of society.
Berg received numerous awards and accolades throughout his five decade-long career. He has published nearly 50 papers and indexed publications on the subjects of engineering, business, management and accounting, and computer science, for which he has been acknowledged as one of the world’s foremost experts in understanding the relationship of technology and the service sector, as well as the management of technological organization, innovation, policy, manufacturing strategy, robotics, and policy issues of research and development in the service sector. After a successful career at Westinghouse Corporation, he moved to academia, serving as dean of the Carnegie Mellon University College of Science, where he helped to found the Robotics Institute, and provost of the University; and vice president of academic affairs and provost, then president, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, among other positions.
Berg has given $2.1 million to CCNY over the years to establish the Daniel Berg ’50 and Frances Berg Professorship, awarded to distinguished Grove School of Engineering faculty to recognize expertise in areas such as chemical engineering, materials science, and related technologies.
About Elizabeth Alexander
Alexander is a celebrated poet, distinguished scholar and educator, cultural advocate, and nationally recognized thought leader on race, justice, the arts, and American society. As president of the Mellon Foundation, she leads a multi-billion dollar philanthropic organization that is the nation’s largest funder of the arts and humanities, spearheading initiatives that promote their integration into society, helping build justice-centered communities, ensuring equity in arts access nationwide, and supporting educational institutions and cultural organizations, including the City University of New York, which, along with several of its campuses and research entities, has received more than $20 million in support over the past decade. That support includes a $10 million gift to advance CUNY’s initiative of programs in Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies and the humanities, expand a program that provides a pathway to arts-based careers for students from underrepresented communities, and an additional $2.5 million to the Chancellor’s Emergency Relief Fund, established to help students facing financial hardship during the pandemic.
About The City College of New YorkSince 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 2.2% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.7 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers, and society. At City College, more than 16,500 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity, and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together,” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College's mission. By May 2026, more than $500 million had been raised. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic, and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Syd Steinhardt
212-650-7875
ssteinhardt@ccny.cuny.edu