Dr. Margaret A. Liu, a Colorado College alumna from the Class of 1977 who is renowned in the fields of vaccines, gene delivery, and cancer immunotherapy, will deliver the 2022 Commencement address. The Commencement ceremony is Sunday, May 22, at 8:30 a.m. in Ed Robson Arena on the Colorado College campus.

Liu is a Colorado native who graduated summa cum laude from CC and was a Boettcher Scholar. She pioneered two technologies for cancer and vaccines (bispecific antibodies and DNA vaccines), for which she has received a number of awards internationally, with two honorary doctorates including a D.Sc.hc from Colorado College and an M.D.hc, from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, where she had been previously invited to lecture by the Nobel committee. She is known as “The Mother of DNA Vaccines,” a technology that also laid foundations for mRNA vaccines. She was the scientific lead for the World Health Organization drafting group for the recently approved WHO guidelines for mRNA vaccines. She passed the Epreuve pour le Diplôme d’Enseignement à l’Unanimité du Jury in piano at L’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, also in 1977, and earned an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1981. Click here for Liu’s bio

In addition, Dr. Neena Grover, Verner Z. Reed Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has been selected as the 2022 Baccalaureate speaker. Baccalaureate, an intimate ceremony for graduates and their two invited guests to reflect on the rite of passage of graduation, is scheduled for Saturday, May 21, at 3 p.m. (location TBD). Click here for Grover’s bio

This year, Colorado College will host the Commencement ceremony in a new venue: Ed Robson Arena. The arena opened its doors in the fall of 2021, serving not only as the first on-campus home for CC hockey, but also as a multipurpose gathering space for campus events and the Colorado Springs community. As the Commencement 2022 venue, Ed Robson Arena offers complete ADA accessibility. The state-of-the-art sound system and high-definition video scoreboard screen offer consistent audio, up-close viewing of the stage and speakers, and a clear view of sign language interpreters from all seats. In addition, Robson offers a temperature-controlled environment without the need for a weather contingency plan. Immediately following the ceremony, all graduates, their guests, faculty, and staff are invited to the President’s Reception on Tava Quad.

For additional information about Commencement 2022 activities, visit the event homepage.