Among family and friends, 388 bachelor’s candidates crossed the stage to receive their degrees on Saturday, May 23, during McDaniel College’s 156th Commencement ceremony. Robert Pick ’92, P’25, current McDaniel College Trustee and executive vice president and chief information officer for Tokio Marine North America, addressed the graduating class, talking to them about the twists and turns of professional life, the value of a liberal arts education, and the adaptability required to take advantage of opportunity. An Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree was also awarded to Dr. Péter Sótonyi, rector of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Budapest, Hungary.
At McDaniel’s 2026 Graduate Commencement Ceremony, 332 students celebrated the achievement of earning their master’s degrees, conferred from 17 programs. Three special awards were presented during the ceremony: two student awards were given to master’s degree recipients, while a faculty award was presented to a senior online graduate adjunct lecturer in Educational Leadership.
In honor of Military Appreciation Month, McDaniel has once again earned a silver Military Friendly® Schools designation and been recognized as a Military Spouse Friendly® School. McDaniel has been consecutively recognized among the nation’s top schools for military and veteran students since 2009.
Leonard Arvi, Ph.D., who most recently served as department chairperson of Finance for the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University, has been selected as the inaugural dean of McDaniel’s new School of Business and Technology following a national search. He assumes the role at McDaniel for the fall 2026 semester, effective Aug. 1.
McDaniel College celebrates its 156th Commencement for the Class of 2026 on Saturday, May 23. The graduate ceremony begins at 10 a.m., followed by the undergraduate ceremony at 2 p.m. Both ceremonies take place in the college’s Gill Center. A livestream is available online at mcdaniel.edu/commencement.
Steve Moore, owner of Westminster’s specialty running store Run Moore, received the 2026 Delta of Maryland Lifelong Learner Award from the Phi Beta Kappa national honor society at McDaniel College during the college's daylong Academic Symposium on Monday, May 4.
Two McDaniel alumni received Trustee Alumni Awards, the highest alumni honor given at McDaniel, during the Trustee-Faculty Dinner held May 8. The 2026 recipients are Maureen Carroll Martin '86, a seasoned editor, writer, and communications professional, and Tyler Wilson '95, P'21, P'23, president of the Kiva Group, which specializes in print communication, advertising, and design.
A plaque unveiling in advance of National Nurses Day took place on campus at McDaniel to officially announce the McDaniel College Kahlert Nursing Education Center. McDaniel’s new state-of-the-art facility for the college’s Nursing program at LifeBridge Health's Carroll Hospital is slated for completion for fall 2026.
McDaniel College announces new majors in Astrophysics, Astronomy, and Engineering Mechanics to begin fall 2027. Incoming fall 2026 students will have the opportunity to be able to declare one of these new programs as their major in their sophomore year.
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