From Seton Hall University Communications:
Seton Hall University celebrated its 170th Baccalaureate Commencement on Monday, May 18, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with best-selling author Dr. Arthur C. Brooks, professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Business School, delivering a keynote address focused on how to live “the happiest, most meaningful life.”
The University conferred baccalaureate degrees on 1,451 students, including 770 graduating with honors. An additional 874 students earned master’s and doctoral degrees this commencement season, bringing the total number of graduates to 2,325.
Graduates received a copy of Arthur C. Brooks’ book “The Meaning of Your Life.” (Photo courtesy of Seton Hall University.)
Invocation by Cardinal Tobin
Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, Archbishop of Newark and University Chair, Board of Trustees and President, University Board of Regents, delivered the Invocation to the Class of 2026.
“Lord, we ask Your blessing upon these graduates. Through years of dedication and discipline, they have sought the truth and acquired the knowledge necessary to serve our world. As they prepare to go forth from this campus, may they carry with them the enduring values of our patroness, Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton: faith and hope, courage and curiosity, and a deep commitment to compassion and service.”
Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, Archbishop of Newark and University Chair, Board of Trustees and President, University Board of Regents, delivered the Invocation to the Class of 2026. (Photo courtesy of Seton Hall University)
Keynote by Arthur Brooks: “Faith, Family, Friends and the Sanctification of Work”
As a gift to graduates from the University, the Class of 2026 received copies of Brooks’ latest book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness, which they found on their seats earlier in the morning.
Brooks’ address focused on “the thing that everybody wants the most” and what he has dedicated his life to as a behavioral scientist: the science of happiness. Brooks opened with the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas: “Every human desires to be happy.”
Best-selling author Arthur C. Brooks gives the Commencement Address at Seton Hall University graduation. (Photo courtesy of Seton Hall)
Brooks noted that while happiness is universal, it is also often misunderstood. Drawing again on Saint Thomas Aquinas and his own work as a social scientist, Brooks argued that many people pursue the wrong goals in search of greater happiness.
Brooks referenced what Aquinas described as four “idols” people often chase — “money, power, pleasure and fame” — explaining that while none are inherently bad, they ultimately cannot satisfy the deeper longing for meaning and happiness.
Instead, Brooks offered what he described as four enduring goals for “the happiest, most meaningful life:” faith, family, friendship and “the sanctification of your work.”
Pointing to the University’s motto, Hazard Zet Forward, Brooks closed by inviting graduates to take in the moments ahead: “Go forward through the hazards of life. Forward toward what? Toward true happiness with God and heaven, which is the happiness that you crave. That, my friends, is the journey that awaits you.”
“…Be the Difference in Our World”
Diane M. Foley, a retired family nurse practitioner and president and founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, was conferred an honorary degree. Foley’s oldest son, conflict journalist James Wright Foley, was killed by ISIS in 2014 for being an American reporter and a Christian. She said she was inspired by her son’s moral courage and the Holy Spirit to establish the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which advocates for U.S. nationals taken captive abroad and works to safeguard journalists. In 2024, she co-authored the book American Mother with Irish American author Colum McCann. Copies of Foley’s book were distributed at the President’s Reception on the day prior.
Diane M. Foley, president and founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, was conferred an honorary degree. (Photo courtesy of Seton Hall University)
Referencing the advocacy and impact of the foundation founded in her son’s name, Foley shared, “Jim believed every person deserved freedom; that every story matters; and that each of us has a responsibility to act when confronted with injustice. Today, I challenge each of you to find your purpose.”
Foley closed her message to the graduates, emphasizing the importance of each graduate’s role in shaping a more compassionate world: “We need your goodness and your compassion to be the difference in our world. God is counting on each of you. You are truly the hope for the future.”
Valedictory Address
Leo Chu, a double major in biology and anthropology from Castro Valley, California, delivered the Valedictory Address. During his time at Seton Hall, Chu championed mentorship and service as a supplemental instructor and student coordinator at the Academic Resource Center, through roles with the Pre-Professional Advising Center and the Biology Society and through volunteerism at St. John’s Soup Kitchen.
Leo Chu, a double major in biology and anthropology from Castro Valley, California, delivered the Valedictory Address. (Photo courtesy of Seton Hall University)
Focused on underserved medicine, he explored the interactions between health and demography through anthropological research and served as a student editor for Locus: The Seton Hall Journal of Undergraduate Research. After graduation, Chu will attend the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and pursue his passion for healthcare for underserved populations.
Quoting the late Pope Francis on the need for togetherness, Chu shared: “‘To understand one another, we need to grow in charity, in truth. We need to pause, to accept, to listen to one another.'”
He pointed to the ways graduates already lived those values throughout their time at Seton Hall – through volunteerism, engaging with perspectives different from their own and forming friendships across backgrounds and experiences. “At Seton Hall, we do this. We know this,” Chu affirmed.
The Charge to Graduates
University President Monsignor Joseph Reilly, an alumnus of the Class of 1987, delivered the charge to the Class of 2026, reflecting on faith, purpose and the enduring presence of the Holy Spirit throughout life’s joys and struggles.
Throughout the address, Monsignor Reilly emphasized that fulfillment comes not simply through professional success, but through openness to God’s purpose and calling.
University President Monsignor Joseph Reilly, an alumnus of the Class of 1987, delivered the charge to the Class of 2026. (Photo courtesy of Seton Hall University)
“That is the promise God is holding out to each one of you here today. Not just the promise of a good job. Not just the promise of financial stability. And not just the promise of success in its many forms. It’s the promise of growing in a deeper relationship with the Lord and a greater understanding and appreciation of why God brought you to the moment in which you find yourself today.”
Referencing the remarks of Brooks and Foley, Reilly reflected on how faith and the work of the Holy Spirit can transform suffering into compassion, forgiveness and service to others.
“Forgiveness is something that we need to learn, because it is one of the central aspects of God,” he said. “It doesn’t come naturally to us as humans.”
Reilly challenged graduates to carry forward the lessons and values formed during their years at Seton Hall.
“So, Class of 2026, my charge to you all is this,” he said. “Take your years of study at Seton Hall; combine them with your own personal gifts; and accept the invitation of God Almighty to travel His journey of purpose, of love and forgiveness.”
“If you do this, the world five and 10 years from now will be very different,” he continued. “It will be more just. More peaceful. More compassionate. And it will be that way because of all of you who are sitting here today.”
