It’s Commencement Day 2026 For MIT Students

InnovationAIIt’s Commencement Day 2026 For MIT StudentsByJohn Werner,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I am an MIT Senior Fellow & Lecturer, 5x-founder & VC investing in AIFollow AuthorMay 31, 2026, 12:04pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.President Sally LornbluthJohn Werner Some of us were there taking pictures. Others were getting ready to begin careers, with all of the questions and excitement that entails. Others were impacting decades of knowledge to these newly minted grads, and our president Sally Kornbluth had some good things to say, about not just the legacy of this venerable institution, but about the feeling of living and working in the MIT community.Amid the hubbub, I thought it would be a good idea to highlight some of her remarks. After all, photo-documentation preserves the day in its own way, but having a good synopsis does its own work, too.Early in her address, Kornbluth talked about how people relate stories to her, of how MIT changed their lives.“It wasn't a subject they studied or a particular skill they acquired,” she said. “It was the whole MIT experience of living and working here together and belonging to a community with our distinctive passions, and values.”So what makes all of this work? Kornbluth mentioned two principles: excellence, and curiosity.The Value of Excellence“Excellence is an easy thing to say,” Kornbluth observed. “Most companies claim it, probably every university too, but I have never seen a community live its commitment to excellence the way it is done at MIT. It's easy to measure in the outward accomplishments of our faculty and our graduates, the prizes, the discoveries, the inventions, the architecture in the industries, the companies, and the cures. But you also feel it here every day when everyone you meet in the hallway wants to tell you about what they're...