The Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy celebrated its fourth graduating class on Saturday, May 24, 2025, as part of Cornell University graduation ceremonies. The afternoon celebration at Bailey Hall honored 252 graduates who received Bachelor’s degrees in Health Care Policy, Policy Analysis and Management, and Public Policy, and graduate degrees in Master of Health Administration, Master of Public Administration, and Ph.D. in Public Policy and in Economics.

“Most of you who are undergrads arrived at Cornell around the time I did as inaugural dean – just as the school was launching. And, all of you have experienced the Brooks School as a start-up venture,” said Brooks School Dean Colleen Barry. “It amazes me to think about how much has changed in such a short time. I hope you feel the same pride I do to have been here at the beginning.”

In her remarks, Dean Barry acknowledged the challenging times facing institutions of higher education, including federal funding cuts and interference with international student visas, while encouraging the graduates to embody Cornell’s values and to take a long view of their roles as contributors to the Brooks School’s formation.

“Despite the challenging moment we are in, institutions like Cornell endure and the founding ideas and core values of the people who were there at the start matter. All of you – our Brooks School graduates, faculty, staff, families – have contributed to our founding years,” Barry said.

The commencement ceremony included the awarding of the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy John Siliciano Student Leadership Award, which recognizes graduating undergraduate and graduate students who display leadership through stellar academic achievement, high impact public engagement, and distinguished service to Cornell. The award honors Professor John Siliciano, who completed 18 years of service as Cornell’s Deputy Provost in 2022 and a term as Interim Provost in 2024. Among his many achievements and contributions to Cornell, Siciliano played an instrumental role in overseeing the creation of the Brooks School.

Credit: Rachel Philipson/Cornell University

The 2025 John Siliciano Leadership Award Winners are:

• Kaitlyn Varriale, BS in Health Care Policy
• Victor Wu, BS in Policy Analysis and Management
• Samantha Domingues-Lambourne, BS in Public Policy
• Keshaav Krishnaa Pothapur, Master of Health Administration
• Alejandro Ramos, Master of Public Administration
• Meredith Welch, PhD

“At Brooks, we have been committed to the notion that, in fact, the most significant policy problems we face here in the U.S. and as a global society cannot be solved within the bounds of a single scholarly discipline. Making meaningful change in our complex world requires us all to become boundary-spanners,” Barry said.