FIT held its 71st annual commencement exercises on Thursday, May 19 at the Javits Center North. More than 2,700 students were awarded associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degrees in nearly 50 areas of study, with a record 1,900 attending commencement.
FIT alumnus Joe Zee, editor-in-chief and executive creative director, Yahoo Style, was the keynote speaker and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the exercises for the Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology and the School of Liberal Arts. He shared with the students personal stories of times that he has failed, and how those times have directly led to success.
FIT alumna Ivy Ross, vice president, Google, was the keynote speaker and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the exercises for the School of Art and Design and the School of Graduate Studies. She shared sage advice with the students, encouraging them to always ask questions, nurture their creativity, and know that the answers they seek are inside of them.
Designer and FIT alumnus Francisco Costa and film producer Jane Rosenthal each received the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, while Ruth Finley, founder of the Fashion Calendar, received the President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement.
FIT president Dr. Joyce F. Brown noted in her remarks that the students’ “gorgeous generational profile” encompasses some of the tools they need to “repair the angry, inflammatory and infinitely sad soundtrack of the 21st century – to return civility…brotherhood… to our lives – and to help make our democracy thrive.”