Commencement 2026

When it sends off the Class of 2026, the university will honor a company and a family with deep ties to Case. Rebecca Liebert, a chemical engineer and the president and CEO of Lubrizol Corp., will deliver the convocation address May 13.

Her presentation kicks of Commencement Week activities, which include an upbeat Clap Out for seniors that afternoon as they traverse Case Quad on their way to the Veale Convocation Center.

Lubrizol, a major Cleveland employer, was co-founded in 1928 as the Graphite Oil Products Corp. by brothers Kent Hale Smith ’17, Vincent Kinsman Smith ’20, and Albert Kelvin Smith ’22. The Smith brothers supported Case for decades, with Kent Hale Smith, a trustee of Case Institute of Technology, serving as president of CIT from 1958 to 1961.

The Smith legacy includes the Kelvin Smith Library and the Kent Hale Smith Building, home to the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, as well as scholarships, labs and reading rooms.

University president Eric Kaler praised the company for its transformational gifts and for its continued support of students.

“As we celebrate the university’s bicentennial, we are proud to include Lubrizol, a company founded by CWRU alumni and one that has been a significant and longtime corporate partner,” he said.

Learn more about Commencement Week activities at case.edu/commencement/