Honoring the Spring 2025 graduates; the Spring Commencement Ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 17 at 3:00 pm at the Children’s Theatre Main Stage (2400 3rd Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55404). Following the ceremony, please join us for the Commencement Exhibition Reception in MCAD's Main Gallery, where work by graduating BFA and BS students is on display.
Due to limited seating, tickets are required for admission to the ceremony.
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2025 Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Awards
To Be Announced.
Commencement Address: Liz Ogbu
A designer, spatial justice activist, and grief worker, Liz is globally-recognized expert on understanding and transforming unjust urban environments. She is a sought-after keynote speaker who has stood on stages all over the world. Liz’s talks focus on ways to build a more just world, including creative approaches to tending to our grief, engaging in collective healing, and supporting interdependent thriving. Her conversation with fellow change makers Akaya Windwood, Bill McKibben, Charlie Jane Anders, Anand Giridharadas, and Rebecca Solnit earlier this year has been viewed over 60,000 times across various platforms. And her popular TED and TEDx Talks have been viewed over a million times.
Select past venues have included TED Women, Bioneers, Black in Design, and the Aspen Ideas Festival. Liz has also been featured on radio broadcasts and podcasts, including NPR’s Ted Radio Hour. She frequently speaks at colleges and universities. Previous engagements have included Harvard University, Tulane University, Wellesley College, and the University of Michigan.