Commencement speaker

RI commencement speakers 2026 feature Matthew Slater and Ashley Judd, as Providence College and NEIT announce major names for May graduation ceremonies.

Dawn Lopes of New Bedford was the class Valedictorian.

Richard Phillips, whose real-life ordeal as a hostage of Somali pirates was the subject of the movie ``Captain Phillips,'' has been selected to address graduates at Massachusetts Maritime Academy's commencement.