Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 To Deliver 2026 Harvard Law Class Day Address

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 will deliver Harvard Law School’s 2026 Class Day address on May 27, the school announced Monday.

Wu, who graduated from the Law School in 2012, will return to campus less than a year after winning a second term as mayor. She ran unopposed in the November 2025 general election after philanthropist Josh Kraft suspended his campaign two days after the city’s preliminary election, in which Wu won more than 71 percent of the vote.

“To return to Harvard Law School as Class Day Speaker for the Class of 2026 is a deeply meaningful honor,” Wu said in the announcement. “This institution helped shape my sense of purpose, and I look forward to celebrating a class that will now shape the world.”

An Economics concentrator in Currier House, Wu is the first Harvard College graduate to serve as Boston mayor in more than a century. She joined the Boston City Council in 2014 and became mayor in 2021, making history as the first woman, first person of color, and first Asian American elected to lead the city.

Before attending HLS, Wu worked at Boston Consulting Group. At the Law School, she interned under former Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, participated in the Harvard Mediation Program and the Tenant Advocacy Project, and advised low-income small business owners at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center.

Wu returned to Harvard in 2022 to address the College’s Class Day, the first in-person celebration after two years of virtual programming during the Covid-19 pandemic. She has also served on the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics’ Senior Advisory Committee since 2019 and has appeared on panels at HLS and HKS.

A frequent critic of the Trump administration, Wu has faced federal scrutiny over Boston’s immigration enforcement policies. In March 2025, she testified before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee about the city’s sanctuary policies, defending the Boston Trust Act as essential to maintaining trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement.

The Justice Department sued Boston, Wu, the Boston Police Department, and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox in September over the Trust Act, which limits the role of local police in federal civil immigration enforcement.

The Trump administration has also threatened to take over Boston’s South Station, and President Donald Trump said in October that he would consider pushing FIFA to move 2026 World Cup matches from the Boston area, citing public safety concerns. During her reelection campaign, Wu also faced criticism from parks advocates over her $200 million plan to renovate White Stadium in Franklin Park.

Wu has framed pressure from Washington as a broader attack on Boston’s institutions and residents.

“People are feeling the weight of a federal administration that’s attacking our sources of strength — the same people and purpose that make Boston great,” Wu said during her 2025 State of the City address. “Public servants and veterans; immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community; the institutions that conduct groundbreaking research and provide lifesaving care.”

In its announcement, HLS touted Wu’s establishment of the Office of Early Childhood, expansion of public transportation access, reduction of gun violence, and implementation of the Boston Green New Deal.

“Throughout her career, Mayor Wu has consistently demonstrated a steadfast commitment to serving the public welfare,” HLS Dean of Students and Associate Dean for Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging Monica E. Monroe wrote in an email to graduating students. “Her dedication to improving the City of Boston and the lives of its residents provides a fitting example of the commitment we hope our graduates demonstrate towards positively impacting the world.”

—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham.