Harvard Business School celebrates 116th Commencement

Harvard Business School celebrated its 116th Commencement Thursday with a diploma ceremony on its campus in Boston.

After an all-University celebration in Harvard’s Tercentenary Theatre in the morning, 925 students received their M.B.A. degrees in front of the School’s Baker Library | Bloomberg Center.

The top 5 percent of the M.B.A. Class of 2026 (49 students) graduated with high distinction as Baker Scholars (named after the School’s initial benefactor, George Fisher Baker). Sixty students earned their diplomas with distinction and 180 earned second-year honors.

Also participating in Thursday’s ceremony were five M.B.A. graduates who were awarded their degrees earlier; four this past March and one last November.

Members of the class also completed joint degree programs offered in collaboration with Harvard Law School (J.D./M.B.A.), Harvard Medical School (M.D./M.B.A.), Harvard Kennedy School (M.B.A./M.P.P. and M.B.A./M.P.A.-ID), and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (M.S./M.B.A. Biotechnology: Life Sciences and M.S./M.B.A. Engineering Sciences).

In addition, 26 students in the Doctoral Program earned Ph.D. degrees in the fields of business administration, business economics, organizational behavior, and health policy management, and one student a master’s in business economics. In February 2026, one student earned a Ph.D. in business administration, and in November 2025, one student a master’s in business economics.

Dean Srikant Datar presented the 2026 Alumni Achievement Awards to H. Lawrence Culp Jr. (M.B.A. 1990), chairman and CEO of GE Aerospace; Paul J. Finnegan (M.B.A. 1982), co-founder and chairman of Madison Dearborn Partners; Jennifer Eplett Reilly (M.B.A. 1990), civic partner and former chair of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation; and the Honorable W. Mitt Romney (M.B.A. 1974/J.D. 1975), former U.S. senator from Utah and former governor of Massachusetts. The awards recognize alumni whose leadership and contributions exemplify the mission and values of Harvard Business School.