Ball State University celebrated the achievements of its Class of 2026 during its Spring Commencement ceremony Saturday on the Quad, where the University conferred approximately 2,800 degrees to graduates from its doctoral, specialist, master’s, and baccalaureate programs.
The University-wide ceremony drew approximately 7,500 graduates, faculty, staff, family members, and community guests to the Arts Terrace, and featured an address by award-winning actor, producer, and philanthropist Hugh Jackman, who also received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree. Ball State Trustee Rick Hall, ’89, was also recognized with the President’s Medal of Distinction—one of the University’s highest honors—for his distinguished legal career and devoted service to Ball State.
Mr. Jackman, whose acclaimed career spans film, theater, and music, used his address to offer graduates a message rooted not in certainty, but in trust—trust in themselves, in their instincts, and in the winding path that may unfold before them.
Rather than offering the Class of 2026 a step-by-step plan for success, Mr. Jackman reflected on the unexpected turns in his own life: an acting class he took by chance, professional opportunities that arrived after disappointment, and moments when failure ultimately created space for something more meaningful.
“My life has not gone the way I thought it would,” Mr. Jackman said. “A lot of the best things that have ever happened to me have been mistakes or failures, or random classes I joined to get me across the finish line. But every time I’ve listened to my heart, that small voice inside that was and is still guiding me, then I have known I was on the right path.”
That theme—listening for what is authentic and fulfilling—carried through the ceremony. Mr. Jackman encouraged graduates to measure their lives not by external markers alone, but by the work, relationships, and callings that give them a sense of purpose.
“What brings you pleasure?” Mr. Jackman asked. “What is going to fuel you when you have to work unbelievably hard—which you will—when you have to face fear and doubt and loneliness and failure—which you will? What lights you up? What is burning inside of you?”
Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns echoed that message in his remarks to the graduates, reminding them that professional success and career fulfillment are not always the same thing.
“People generally equate success with financial rewards, with impressive titles, and with notoriety or fame,” President Mearns said. “Those are external indicators of success, and some of us have come to know that you may find that those elements are temporary and hollow.”
Instead, President Mearns urged graduates to pursue work that improves the lives of others and to live by the enduring values expressed in Ball State’s Beneficence Pledge.
“I encourage you to seek fulfillment,” President Mearns said. “Set professional goals that will make you and your families and your friends proud of your professional contributions—proud because your contributions have improved the lives of other people, because that impact is enduring.”
During the ceremony, Ball State awarded Mr. Jackman an honorary Doctor of Arts degree in recognition of his lifelong accomplishments and passion for the arts. He has earned acclaim for his work across film, theater, and music, including The Greatest Showman, Les Misérables, the X-Men series, Logan, and Broadway productions such as The Boy from Oz and The Music Man.
The University also honored Mr. Hall with the President’s Medal of Distinction. A 1989 Ball State graduate, Mr. Hall has served on the University’s Board of Trustees since 2007, including terms as chair from 2014-20 and 2024-26. He is a distinguished partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, where he chairs the Government Services and Finance Department.
Mr. Hall was also a four-year basketball letterman at Ball State and captain of the Cardinals’ 1988-89 team, which finished 29-3, won a Mid-American Conference championship, and secured the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory. He was inducted into the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000.
Saturday’s ceremony continued a University tradition that began on the Quad more than 100 years ago. As members of the Class of 2026 leave campus, they join more than 220,000 living Ball State graduates.
The ceremony concluded with a performance of Ball State’s anthem, “We Fly,” by students from the BFA Performance program in the Department of Theatre and Dance. College-specific ceremonies followed throughout the day at Emens Auditorium and Worthen Arena.
The post Ball State Spring Commencement appeared first on Woof Boom Radio News.
