Colby Announces Commencement 2026 Speakers and Honorands
A quartet of inspiring individuals representing the arts, academics, technology, and the judiciary will join graduates in celebration
Mo Willems, award-winning author, illustrator, and animator of beloved, witty children’s books, will address graduates and their families at Colby’s 205th Commencement Sunday, May 24, 2026. The Hon. Esther Salas, a trailblazing federal judge who has turned personal tragedy into a purpose-driven mission, will deliver the baccalaureate address Saturday, May 23.
Salas and two other inspiring individuals will receive honorary degrees from the College; Willems received an honorary degree in 2024. The four will join the graduating seniors, Colby’s distinguished faculty, and guests to celebrate graduates’ academic achievements, creativity and innovation, and lasting impact on the College and community.
Those receiving honorary degrees are:
Nathaniel Fick, inaugural U.S. ambassador at large for the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy
Dr. Melissa Gilliam, president of Boston University and acclaimed scientist
Esther Salas, U.S. District Judge for the District of New Jersey, and the first Latina to hold this position in the state
“It is an honor to recognize the extraordinary work of these individuals,” said President David A. Greene. “Whether in the arts, public policy, public health, science, or education, these leaders have shaped their fields in ways that will inspire our graduates to use their talents for the betterment of others and for society as a whole.”
Mo Willems, D.F.A. ’24 is the artist and author behind New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Honors–awarded picture books, including Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and the Knuffle Bunny series. Willems received an Eisner Award for The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster!, and his celebrated Elephant & Piggie early-reader series has received two Theodor Seuss Geisel Awards and five Geisel Honors.
Willems’s debut title Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! was inducted into the Picture Book Hall of Fame. He has published more than 70 children’s books—more than 50 of them New York Times bestselling titles—with more than 25 foreign-language translations. In addition to his Caldecott Honors, Willems garnered six Emmy Awards for his writing on Sesame Street, where he began his career. Willems has also created three television specials, six animated series, seven musical adaptations, five licensed theater productions, and three touring exhibitions.
Willems, whose original art hangs in the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts, visited Colby and Waterville in spring 2024, filling the Gordon Center for a discussion about his work and drawing 700 fans to a read-aloud from his books at the Waterville Public Library and an art event at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center.
Esther Salas, who received the Morton A. Brody Distinguished Judicial Service Award from Colby in 2024, has served as a United States district judge for the District of New Jersey since 2011. In 2020, a disgruntled attorney targeted her home, shooting and killing her 20-year-old son and severely wounding her husband. In the aftermath, she became a prominent advocate for judicial security, leading to the passage of the federal Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act.
She has presided over complex civil and criminal cases, including a number of novel issues that lacked legal precedent. Additionally, she cofounded the District of New Jersey Pretrial Opportunity Program, which provides pre-trial judicial intervention for criminal defendants suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. Before her appointment, she worked as an assistant federal public defender and later became the first Hispanic woman to serve as a U.S. magistrate judge for the District of New Jersey.
Salas has received numerous awards, including the Women’s Initiative and Leaders in Law Platinum Award from the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association, the Public Interest Law Foundation Award from Rutgers University, the President’s Award from the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Justice Thurgood Marshall Award from the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Jurist Award for Making the World a More Just Place from the National Judicial College, the Raphael Lemkin Rule of Law Guardian Award from the Bloch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School, and many others.
Colby will also grant honorary degrees to:
Nathaniel Fick, a technology entrepreneur and investor, diplomat, Marine, and bestselling author. Fick is chief strategy officer for equities at Cerberus Capital Management, focused on venture capital and growth equity investments in national security and resilience. He served from 2022 to 2025 as the inaugural U.S. Ambassador for Cyberspace and Digital Policy at the State Department, where he led American diplomacy around the world on technology issues, including cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, AI, and other emerging technologies. Before performing government service, Fick was general manager of Elastic Security and CEO of Endgame, a venture-backed software company that was acquired by Elastic. Fick started his career as a Marine Corps infantry and reconnaissance officer. His book about his experiences, One Bullet Away, was a New York Times bestseller, a Washington Post “Best Book of the Year,” and a Military Times “Best Military Books of the Decade.”
He is a graduate of Dartmouth College, the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Harvard Business School. He has served on many boards, including as a trustee of Dartmouth and a director of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Appalachian Mountain Club.
Dr. Melissa L. Gilliam, who became Boston University’s 11th president in 2024. Gilliam is an award-winning interdisciplinary researcher in medicine, public health, and the humanities. She joined Boston University from The Ohio State University, where she held the Engie-Axium Chair and served as executive vice president and provost, overseeing 15 colleges, six campuses, and the Office of Academic Affairs. She focused on issues of access, affordability, and reducing student debt. Before joining Ohio State, she spent the majority of her career at the University of Chicago, where she was the Ellen H. Block Distinguished Service Professor of Health Justice, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics, and vice provost. Gilliam’s scholarship focuses on developing biomedical and innovative interventions to promote adolescent health and well-being. Among her many awards and honors, she was named a Centennial Scholar of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago, and she received the King Arts Center Legacy Award, Chicago Urban League Innovator Award, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee Service Award, and Chicago Foundation for Women Impact Award.
Gilliam earned her B.A. in English literature from Yale University, an M.A. in philosophy and politics from the University of Oxford, a doctor of medicine from Harvard University, and a master of public health from the University of Illinois Chicago.
Members of the Class of 2026 came to Colby from 41 states and 60 countries. They will leave Mayflower Hill prepared for careers or graduate work in scientific research, education, law, government, medicine, environmental advocacy, entrepreneurship, nonprofit leadership, finance, and much more.
The commencement ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. on the Miller Library lawn and is open to the public. Any notice of weather-related location changes will be posted at colby.edu, as will the link to a live video stream for those unable to attend. Media members who plan to attend should contact the Office of Communications at [email protected].
