MIDDLETOWN – Undaunted by a move indoors due to morning rain in Middletown, members of SUNY Orange’s graduating Class of 2026 rejoiced in their celebration Thursday morning, accepting accolades for their perseverance, commitment and resilience on their way to earning a SUNY Orange degree that they were told will open doors and create opportunities for a bright and successful future.
Scheduled to be held outdoors on the Alumni Green, Commencement was moved indoors to the Physical Education Center because of the inclement weather. Despite the move, an estimated 2,200 friends and family members crowded into the gymnasium, while more than 250 filled nearby on-campus viewing locations and hundreds more watched online via the College’s livestream.
“The world you are entering does not simply need people with credentials. It needs people who know how to keep going once they have the credential,” SUNY Orange President Dr. Kristine Young told the graduates. “And that is exactly what community colleges help build. Your degree does not represent perfection or certainty. It represents proof. Proof that you kept going. And proof that you will keep going.”
Pending certification of their transcripts, a total of 767 students are in line to complete degree requirements over the current academic year, and nearly 450 of them participated in Thursday’s ceremony.
Each year, SUNY Orange awards diplomas to students who earn associate in arts, associate in science and associate in applied science degrees, while presenting graduation certificates to those who complete the College’s various certificate programs.
SUNY Orange graduation by the numbers
- Graduates and graduate candidates for 2025-26 academic year: 767 [December 2025 graduates (195), May 2026 pending graduates (438), and August 2026 pending graduates (134)]
- Eleven graduates and graduate candidates had perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point averages
- There were 83 graduate candidates listed as graduating summa cum laude (gpa of 3.75 to 4.00), 123 were magna cum laude (3.50 to 3.74) and 150 who were cum laude (3.20 to 3.49)
- Thirteen graduates were members of the Honors Program
- There were 11 veterans among the graduates
- Thirty-three graduates were products of the Excelsior Academy [the collaborative P-TECH program at Newburgh North High School in partnership by SUNY Orange and IBM]
- The youngest graduate was 17 years, 125 days old (Jan. 16, 2009 / cyber security degree) while the oldest was 62 years and 309 days old (July 15, 1963 / JRTEP B-6 degree).
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