Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian will deliver the keynote address at Emory University’s 181st Commencement on May 11, 2026. Bastian is set to receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree during the ceremony in recognition of his contributions to business and society.
“Our graduates are entering a world that demands resilience, adaptability and leadership in uncertain times,” said Emory University Interim President Leah Ward Sears. “Ed Bastian has exemplified these qualities by transforming Delta Air Lines into an industry leader despite unprecedented challenges. His consistent leadership at Delta, coupled with his strong commitment to employees, customers and communities, offers an inspiring example of courage, responsibility and vision.”
Bastian marks a decade as CEO of Delta in 2026. He leads a workforce of over 100,000 people worldwide, including nearly 40,000 based in Georgia. Delta is headquartered near Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and serves close to 200 million travelers annually across more than 50 countries.
“I am honored to serve as Emory University’s 2026 Commencement speaker,” Bastian said. “For nearly 200 years, Emory has been a source of excellence, inspiration and innovation for our entire community. I’m looking forward to celebrating this achievement with the Class of 2026, and their families, friends and loved ones, as they embark on their next chapter.”
Bastian joined Delta in 1998 as vice president of finance and controller before advancing to chief financial officer in 2005 and president in 2007. He became CEO in 2016 and led the company through major events such as the aftermath of September 11th, bankruptcy proceedings, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He describes his job as “Taking care of our people.”
His recognitions include being named among “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” by Fortune in 2018. In addition to election to the Council on Foreign Relations in 2019, he was named Chief Executive magazine’s “Chief Executive of the Year” for 2023 and Georgia Trend Magazine’s “Georgian of the Year” for 2024. During Delta’s centennial year in 2025, he was included on TIME100 and received the Tony Jannus Award. In 2026, Delta placed No.11 on Fortune’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” list for a third consecutive year.
Delta maintains several partnerships with Emory University. These include support for educational programs at Goizueta Business School such as the Delta Leadership Coaching Fellows Program; collaboration with Emory’s Office of Global Strategies and Initiatives on projects like the Free Passport Initiative; and hosting an Emory Clinic at Delta headquarters staffed by Emory Healthcare providers.
“As two of Georgia’s largest private employers, Emory and Delta are committed to excellence, service and global influence,” Sears noted. “These shared values strengthen our institutions and benefit the wider community.”
Emory will also present honorary degrees during Commencement to Ruth J. Simmons and Susan E. Stone.
Ruth Simmons is president emerita at Prairie View A&M University, Brown University, and Smith College. She will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree—making her only the seventh person to receive both this honor from Emory as well as its President’s Medal (awarded to her in 2006). Simmons’ memoir “Up Home: One Girl’s Journey” details her path from being born into a sharecropping family to becoming a prominent educator.
Simmons introduced Smith College’s first accredited engineering program at an all-women’s college during her presidency from 1995-2001 before becoming president at Brown University—the first Black president at an Ivy League institution—from 2001-2012. At Brown she established a Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice that influenced similar efforts elsewhere.
After retiring from Brown she served as president at Prairie View A&M from 2017-2023—the first woman leading Texas’ largest historically Black university—and currently holds advisory roles at Rice University and Harvard University focused on HBCU initiatives.
Her accolades include membership in academic societies such as the American Academy of Arts & Sciences; receiving France’s Legion of Honor; election into the American Philosophical Society; awarding by Time Magazine as “America’s Best College President”; appointment by Harvard University; receiving a National Humanities Medal at the White House; among others.
Susan E. Stone will be recognized for her work advancing midwifery education nationwide with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Stone is president emerita and Distinguished Chair of Midwifery & Nursing at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) where she served from 2001-2024 overseeing growth from one certificate program enrolling about two hundred students into a university offering master’s/doctoral degrees serving over twenty-five hundred graduate nursing students nationwide—including many nurse-midwives working across rural/underserved communities.
Stone previously worked as a full-scope nurse-midwife before transitioning into education leadership roles focused on expanding access through advanced practice nursing programs nationally/internationally—a career marked by induction into National Academy Medicine (one-of-two nurses selected that year), past presidency American College Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), earning doctoral credentials from UT Health Science Center & fellowships ACNM/American Academy Nursing.
Emory will also award its President’s Medal—an honor given since its inception in1995—to three researchers: Dennis Liotta (Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor Chemistry), Raymond Schinazi (Frances Winship Walters Professor Pediatrics), Woo-Baeg Choi (former postdoctoral research associate). They co-developed antivirals FTC (emtricitabine/Emtriva) &3TC(lamivudine/Epivir) which have become essential HIV therapies used by over ninety percent U.S.patients living with HIV & millions globally—helping turn HIV/AIDS from fatal disease into manageable chronic condition.
The Commencement ceremony takes place Monday May11at10a.m.at Gas South Arena.Tickets are required for bachelor candidates attending in person while other degree recipients participate virtually.More details about registration,schedule,and planning can be found via the official Commencement website.
