Actress/author Bern Nadette Stanis to receive honorary degree on June 12 at Rentschler Field
Goodwin University has scheduled its 2025 Commencement ceremony for Thursday, June 12, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. The ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. as an estimated 312 students receive their certificates and associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees. A separate hooding ceremony for the master’s degree recipients will be held earlier that day. President Mark Scheinberg will deliver remarks to the graduates and provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Michael Pardales will serve as master of ceremonies.
This year’s Commencement caps off Goodwin’s year-long 25th Anniversary celebration, tracing the school’s inception as the Data Institute, its growth as Goodwin College, and its present status as a non-profit, career-focused university with presences in both East Hartford and Bridgeport.
At the ceremony, actress/author Bern Nadette Stanis will receive an honorary degree in Humane Letters from the University and address the graduates along with their families, friends, and faculty. Best known as the quick-witted “Thelma Evans” in the groundbreaking sitcom “Good Times” (1974 to 1979), she was the first African American female teenager to be cast in a full family show. Ms. Stanis secured her place in television history by reshaping the perception of a young Black girl in the minds of viewers throughout the country. Thelma personified a ghetto girl from Chicago’s inner-city projects living a life full of hopes and dreams and possessing intelligence, self-respect, dignity, and grace. The actress currently continues her notable career as Nee Nee Duncan on Carl Webers’ “The Family Business” and “The Family Business New Orleans.” An author as well, Ms. Stanis has written several best-selling books including “Situations 101, Relationships: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly,” “Situations 101, Finances: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly,” “The Last Night, A Caregiver’s Journey Through Transition and Beyond,” and her latest book, “Good Times, Ain’t We Lucky We Got ’Em: Memoir of an American Sweetheart.”
Also receiving honorary degrees at the ceremony will be longtime community organizer and political consultant Janice Flemming-Butler of Strategic Outreach Solutions, Hartford area developer Harry James, and chairman and CEO of LAZ Parking Alan Lazowski. Goodwin’s 2025 student speaker will be Jayanna Eneida Rodriguez, who will receive her bachelor’s degree in Human Services.
For more information about Goodwin’s Commencement ceremonies, visit goodwin.edu/commencement.
Goodwin University is a nonprofit institution of higher education and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), formerly known as the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Goodwin University was founded in 1999, with the goal of serving a diverse student population with career-focused degree programs that lead to strong employment outcomes.