Alumna Christine DeBiase ’90 will deliver the Sunday Undergraduate Commencement Address at SUNY New Paltz on May 18
SUNY New Paltz will welcome distinguished alumna Christine DeBiase ’90 (Communications) back to campus on May 18, 2025, to deliver the Commencement Address at the Sunday Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony and receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree, the highest form of recognition offered by the State University of New York.
“It is with great appreciation that I receive this honorary doctorate at SUNY New Paltz, an institution that helped shape my values and where I learned the power of purpose-driven leadership,” DeBiase said. “My leadership journey began at SUNY New Paltz and my experiences there continue to guide me as a leader today.”
DeBiase is among the most accomplished and engaged New Paltz graduates in campus history, whose professional success and contributions to the life of the University were most recently recognized with a Professional Achievement Award at Alumni Reunion 2024.
Currently the Allstate Corporation’s executive vice president, chief legal officer and general counsel, DeBiase has devoted her career to expanding access to the corporate legal profession while empowering women and members of the LGBTQ+ community to thrive in the profession.
Beyond her work and advocacy, DeBiase is known as an all-time great SUNY New Paltz athlete. She was a member of the historic 1988 Softball team that won the program’s only state championship, and was team captain on both the Softball and Women’s Soccer teams, where she posted 21 career shutouts as one of the great goalies in program history.
DeBiase remains an avid supporter of collegiate athletics across the U.S. She is a member of the PowerPlay NYC Board of Directors, helping provide guidance to a non-profit organization that teaches girls leadership, life skills and healthy habits through sports. She also works with the Foundation Board for the National Junior College Athletic Association. She was inducted individually into the Hawks Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 and again in 2018 as a member of the 1988 softball team.
About Commencement 2025 at SUNY New Paltz
This year’s Undergraduate Commencement Ceremonies will be held on Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18, 2025, on the Old Main Quad on the SUNY New Paltz campus. Both ceremonies will begin at 10 a.m.
The Saturday Ceremony honors graduates of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and the Sunday Ceremony honors graduates of the School of Business, School of Education, School of Fine & Performing Arts and School of Science & Engineering.
The Graduate Commencement Ceremony will take place on Friday, May 16, at 6 p.m., also on the Old Main Quad.
More information about SUNY New Paltz Commencement 2025 can be found here.