NYU Stern Faculty Urge Class of 2025 to Pair AI With Human Judgment

NYU Stern

Graduates must steer business through market volatility using ethical leadership and operational discipline rather than relying on artificial intelligence alone.

AI-assisted summary of A Message from the Faculty and Administration to the MBA and PhD Class of 2025 — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published: 2026-09-22

Key ideas

NYU Stern faculty and administration presented their farewell address to the MBA and PhD Class of 2025, celebrating student resilience, lasting friendships, and university traditions such as wearing violet. (0:00)
Faculty highlighted key academic and experiential milestones, ranging from advanced finance and artificial intelligence ethics to global supply chain expeditions in Panama, Las Vegas, Morocco, and South Africa. (1:16)
A professor of business law reframed fiduciary duty as an enduring mutual bond of care, respect, and support between faculty and graduates that continues well beyond graduation. (4:09)
Graduates were formally welcomed into the global NYU Stern alumni network with reminders to lead with moral courage, integrity, and operational clarity. (4:09)

Detailed notes

## Background Published on YouTube by NYU Stern on September 22, 2026, this video showcases a commemorative message presented at the school's MBA and PhD Convocation on Friday, May 16, 2025. According to the description, it features faculty and administration delivering celebratory reflections and farewell advice to the graduating Class of 2025.

## TL;DR Faculty and administrators celebrate the graduating Class of 2025 by recalling academic highlights, spanning quantitative finance, operations management, and immersive field studies from Panama to Las Vegas. The address honors the cohort's mastery of both intellectual and emotional intelligence, applauding contributions from club leaders, DBi global travel cohorts, and Langone Part-Time MBA students. Graduates are challenged to lead with moral integrity, embrace difficult conversations, and center human judgment even as artificial intelligence transforms business. Concluding on a personal note, professors reframe fiduciary duty as an enduring bond of mutual care, formally inducting the graduates into the worldwide Stern alumni network.

## Atmosphere & style The presentation is warm, spirited, and bittersweet, moving seamlessly between playful academic humor and sincere emotional depth. A rotating ensemble of faculty members speaks directly to the cohort with paternal and collegial fondness, referencing everything from pop-culture friendship bracelets and deleting the CampusGroups app to complex supply-chain metaphors. It creates the uplifting, intimate sensation of a victory lap, balancing rigorous intellectual pride with heartfelt tenderness and genuine institutional affection.

## Bulletin - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=0s) NYU Stern faculty and administration presented their farewell address to the MBA and PhD Class of 2025, celebrating student resilience, lasting friendships, and university traditions such as wearing violet. - [01:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=76s) Faculty highlighted key academic and experiential milestones, ranging from advanced finance and artificial intelligence ethics to global supply chain expeditions in Panama, Las Vegas, Morocco, and South Africa. - [04:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=249s) A professor of business law reframed fiduciary duty as an enduring mutual bond of care, respect, and support between faculty and graduates that continues well beyond graduation. - [04:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=249s) Graduates were formally welcomed into the global NYU Stern alumni network with reminders to lead with moral courage, integrity, and operational clarity.

## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=0s) Graduates are praised for transforming classroom peers into lifelong friends and teammates capable of teaming up to do good in the world. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=0s) Wearing NYU's signature violet color symbolizes creativity, royalty, past accomplishments, and future aspirations. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=0s) Faculty invoke NYU's Latin motto, Perstare et Praestare ('persevere and excel'), while honoring the achievements of Leadership Fellows. - [01:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=76s) Finance and economics takeaways ranged from practical life humor to quantitative easing, money printing, and multi-dimensional volatility surfaces. - [01:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=76s) Faculty emphasized that while artificial intelligence can aid decision-making, graduates must ultimately lead and decide with human wisdom and heart. - [01:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=76s) Experiential learning took students across diverse environments, including Panama's jungles, NYC sidewalks, and the Las Vegas Strip, proving that 'even the devil needs logistics.' - [02:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=174s) Operations management principles—such as identifying bottlenecks, acknowledging variability, and balancing trade-offs—serve as essential guides for navigating life. - [02:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=174s) Student accomplishments were recognized across both IQ and EQ, alongside the humorous milestone of finally deleting the CampusGroups app. - [02:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=174s) Special recognition was extended to participants in the Doing Business in (DBi) Morocco and South Africa programs, student club leaders, and Langone Part-Time MBA graduates. - [02:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=174s) Faculty advised graduates never to confuse 'good enough' with great, stressing that true success depends on the integrity of how goals are achieved. - [04:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=249s) Graduates were urged to show moral leadership by initiating hard-but-worth-it conversations and actively shaping the world they want to live in. - [04:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=249s) A business law professor reframed fiduciary duty as an ongoing mutual commitment of vulnerability, kindness, and love that outlasts graduation. - [04:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=249s) The administration and alumni office officially welcomed the Class of 2025 into the global Stern alumni community.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=0s) Wearing Violet and Lifelong Bonds

The celebration begins with a heartfelt reminder that while the world continues to spin madly on and students have spent years juggling constant chaos, they managed to learn an enormous amount. Above all, the greatest achievement was that classmates transformed into lifelong friends, adding irreplaceable teammates to the Stern community roster. Channelling a bit of pop-culture wisdom, graduates are encouraged to "make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, and then team up and do good."

Faculty offer immediate sartorial and symbolic guidance: continue doing what convocation calls for and proudly wear violet. As the signature hue of New York University, violet embodies both creativity and royalty, serving as a permanent badge of how far students have journeyed over the preceding years and a beacon for how far they will travel in the future. Faculty invoke NYU's historic Latin motto, expressing eager anticipation to see the graduating class "persevere and excel" (*Perstare et Praestare*). Special recognition is also extended to the Leadership Fellows for their dedication and accomplishments throughout the program.

[01:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=76s) From Volatility Surfaces to the Jungles of Panama

Classroom lessons and real-world expeditions take center stage as professors reminisce about signature coursework. In finance and economics, students are reminded of lighthearted yet crucial takeaways: the lifelong wisdom of avoiding donuts, the macro mechanics of quantitative easing and money printing, and advanced lessons on volatility surfaces—surfaces that are never merely one-dimensional, but behave more like multi-sided dice. Another faculty member shares a poetic blessing on the future of business, noting that while artificial intelligence may assist in modern data-driven decision-making, it is ultimately the graduates who must decide, steering their careers with wisdom and heart.

Faculty celebrate the adventurous field studies that defined the cohort's MBA experience. Students tracked global supply chains straight through the jungles of Panama, analyzed high-stakes real estate investments on the sidewalks of New York City, and explored the complexities of hospitality and gaming on the Las Vegas Strip—a trip that yielded the unforgettable operational insight that "even the devil needs logistics." Leaders from Experiential Learning express their pride in seeing students drive tangible impact through Stern Signature Projects, Board Fellows, and Entertainment and Media Solutions, urging the class to go all-in on their future ventures.

[02:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=174s) Operations Wisdom, Global DBis, and Deleting CampusGroups

The message turns to practical operational philosophy. A professor of operations management offers parting reflections on navigating life's systems: bottlenecks are real, variability is inevitable, and data-driven analysis remains an indispensable compass. Just like running complex supply chains, managing a meaningful life requires balancing trade-offs and navigating persistent uncertainty with clear eyes.

A speaker highlighting student life celebrates the grit that carried graduates through countless late-night study sessions and group projects, noting they have thoroughly mastered the twin pillars of IQ and EQ—and earned the sweet relief of finally being able to delete the CampusGroups mobile app from their phones. Special salutes are directed toward participants in the Doing Business in (DBi) programs in Morocco and South Africa, the school's student club leaders, and graduating peers from the Langone Part-Time MBA program. Graduates are urged never to compromise on their standards as they re-enter the corporate world: set your sights high without mistaking "good enough" for great, and always remember that true success lies not merely in what you achieve, but in the integrity of how you achieve it.

- **Operations Core Tenets:** - Bottlenecks are an unavoidable reality. - Variability is inevitable. - Success requires thoughtful trade-offs and managing uncertainty. - **Milestones Acknowledged:** DBi Morocco, DBi South Africa, Langone Part-Time MBA, and club leadership.

[04:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=249s) Difficult Conversations, Fiduciary Duty, and the Alumni Network

The faculty encourage graduates to lean into courage and moral leadership in their professional lives. Stepping outside business-as-usual means being willing to initiate the "hard-but-worth-it conversations," defying cynical norms, and proactively building the kind of world they actually want to inhabit. The administration applauds the adventurous spirit that defined their academic tenures—whether demonstrated across international exchange programs, faculty-led global travel courses, or grassroots initiatives across New York City.

Closing on an emotional note, a professor of business law reframes the legal concept of fiduciary duty. Over the duration of the degree, faculty and students formed a mutual covenant by sharing vulnerabilities, raw ideas, and real-life struggles, meeting each other with profound kindness, respect, and love. The professor assures the class of 2025 that this fiduciary duty does not expire upon graduation, sending the cohort and their families off with warm "Stern hugs." Finally, the alumni office officially welcomes the graduates into the global alumni network, urging them to stay connected, attend upcoming alumni gatherings, and carry the Stern legacy forward.

## Notable quotes > [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=0s) make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, and then team up and do good.

> [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=0s) persevere and excel

> [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=0s) Perstare et Praestare

> [01:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=76s) even the devil needs logistics

> [02:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=174s) good enough

> [04:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=249s) hard-but-worth-it conversations

> [04:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU&t=249s) Stern hugs

## Mentioned New York University, Stern School of Business, Leadership Fellows, Panama, New York City, Las Vegas Strip, Experiential Learning, Stern Signature Projects, Board Fellows, Entertainment and Media Solutions, CampusGroups, Doing Business in (DBi), Morocco, South Africa, Langone Part-Time MBA

## Video description This video was presented at Stern's MBA and PhD Convocation on Friday, May 16, 2025. See additional features here: https://www.stern.nyu.edu/graduation/archive

[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq5c7xcpEU)

中文简报

NYU Stern教职员工勉励2025届毕业生将AI与人类判断相结合毕业生必须依靠道德领导力和运营纪律，而非仅仅依赖人工智能，来引领企业度过市场动荡。教职员工和管理层回顾了从量化金融、运营管理到横跨巴拿马至拉斯维加斯的沉浸式实地考察等学术亮点，共同庆祝2025届学生的毕业。致辞赞扬了该届学生在智力与情商方面的双重造诣，并对学生社团领袖、DBi全球考察团队以及Langone在职MBA学生的贡献表示肯定。教职员工勉励毕业生以道德诚信为引领，勇于面对艰难对话，并在人工智能重塑商业格局之际始终以人类判断为核心。在富有个人温情的寄语中，教授们将受信人义务重新定义为相互关怀的持久羁绊，并正式接纳毕业生加入全球Stern校友网络。 NYU Stern教职员工和管理层向2025届MBA和博士毕业生致告别辞，赞扬了学生的坚韧毅力、深厚友谊以及身着紫袍等大学传统。 (0:00) 教职员工重点回顾了关键的学术与实践里程碑，涵盖高级金融、人工智能伦理，以及在巴拿马、拉斯维加斯、摩洛哥和南非开展的全球供应链考察。 (1:16) 一位商法教授将受信人义务重新定义为教职员工与毕业生之间持久的关怀、尊重与支持羁绊，这种纽带将长久延续至毕业之后。 (4:09) 毕业生被正式迎入全球NYU Stern校友网络，并被提醒要以道德勇气、诚信和运营清晰度进行领导。 (4:09)

Reading summary

In their commencement address to the MBA and PhD Class of 2025, NYU Stern faculty and administrators urged graduates to pair analytical rigor with ethical responsibility, emphasizing human judgment over automated decision-making and lifelong community ties over transactional success. Translating Classroom Theory to Practical Fieldwork (1:16) Faculty members reflected on how signature coursework bridged technical mechanics with real-world complexities. In finance and economics, students analyzed macroeconomic tools like quantitative easing as well as multidimensional volatility surfaces. While professors acknowledged that artificial intelligence increasingly supports modern, data-driven decisions, they maintained that strategic choices must ultimately be steered by human wisdom, conscience, and judgment. These theoretical frameworks were tested through hands-on experiential learning, including Stern Signature Projects, Board Fellows, and Entertainment and Media Solutions. Field studies exposed students directly to complex systems, from tracing global supply chains across the jungles of Panama and evaluating investments across New York City to analyzing the operational demands of the Las Vegas Strip, which underscored that even unconventional industries depend fundamentally on logistics. Operational Realities and Ethical Leadership (2:54) Addressing practical leadership, faculty in operations management outlined core systems tenets for navigating future uncertainty: bottlenecks are unavoidable, variability is an enduring reality, and data-driven analysis must be used to balance difficult trade-offs. Graduates were urged to draw on both intellectual and emotional intelligence (IQ and EQ), maintaining high standards rather than settling for work that is merely "good enough," while recognizing that true achievement depends on the integrity of the process. Speakers also called on graduates to lead with moral courage by rejecting cynical norms and initiating difficult but necessary professional conversations. A business law professor reframed the legal concept of fiduciary duty as a reciprocal covenant established through vulnerability, respect, and kindness, asserting that this mutual obligation of care does not terminate with graduation. Cohort Solidarity and the Enduring Alumni Network (0:00) Celebrating the personal bonds formed throughout the program, speakers described the transformation of classmates into lifelong teammates as the cohort's defining achievement. Faculty invoked the symbolism of wearing NYU violet—representing creativity, royalty, and the university motto Perstare et Praestare ("persevere and excel")—as an ongoing marker of resilience and forward momentum. Specific recognition was extended across student pathways, including student club leaders, Leadership Fellows, graduates of the Langone Part-Time MBA program, and participants in Doing Business in (DBi) courses in Morocco and South Africa. Closing the ceremony, the alumni administration formally inducted the class into the global alumni network, urging them to stay actively engaged with the Stern community. The faculty's address presents modern business education not as an isolated technical credential, but as a continuous ethical and social compact that obligates leaders to apply rigorous operational thinking with human-centered integrity.

Source quotes

[0:00] make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, and then team up and do good. [0:00] persevere and excel [0:00] Perstare et Praestare [1:16] even the devil needs logistics [2:54] good enough [4:09] hard-but-worth-it conversations [4:09] Stern hugs

Original transcript

[0:00] (lively music) [0:04] - Hi people. [0:05] Congratulations. [0:06] As the world spins madly on, this much, I know to be true. [0:10] While juggling all manner of craziness, [0:13] you managed to learn a ton. [0:15] But most important, classmates became lifelong friends [0:19] and the Stern community added invaluable teammates [0:21] to its roster. [0:23] So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment [0:26] and taste it, and then team up and do good. [0:30] - Congratulations, graduates. [0:32] I have one piece of advice for you, [0:34] which is to do exactly what you are doing right now, [0:37] which is wear violet. [0:39] Violet is the color of creativity. [0:41] It's the color of royalty, [0:43] but most importantly, it is the color of our School. [0:46] And so wearing it will remind you of how far you have come [0:49] over these last couple of years, [0:51] as well as a reminder of how far you are likely [0:53] to go in the future. [0:54] So congratulations, [0:56] and in the words of our School motto, [0:58] I cannot wait to see you "persevere and excel." [1:02] - Congratulations to the graduating students. [1:05] We are so proud of all that you have accomplished. [1:08] A special shout out to the Leadership Fellow students. [1:12] We can't wait to see what you all do next. Congratulations. [1:16] - Hi everyone. Congratulations on your big day. [1:19] For those who are graduating who did my classes, [1:21] I hope you remember some of the fun lessons we learned, [1:24] like the importance of avoiding donuts, the importance of QE [1:28] and money printing, and for those who did my newer classes, [1:31] the importance of volatility services [1:34] that are never just one dimension, [1:35] but they're more like a dice. [1:37] Good luck. Please stay in touch. [1:40] - Congratulations, Stern Class of 2025. [1:43] Your data-driven decision-making skills [1:46] will make your careers thrive. [1:48] Artificial intelligence may assist, [1:50] but it's you who decide. [1:53] With wisdom and with heart, let that be your guide. [1:58] Wishing you success, joy, and all that is bright. [2:02] Now, go change the world. May your dreams arrive. [2:06] - You tracked the global supply chain [2:08] through the jungles of Panama, [2:11] made exciting real estate investments [2:13] on the streets of New York [2:16] and experienced the thrill of hospitality [2:19] and gaming in Vegas. [2:21] As we learned there, even the devil needs logistics. [2:26] Congratulations. [2:29] I encourage you to go all in on your future success. [2:34] - On behalf of Experiential Learning [2:35] I want to say congratulations, Class of 2025. [2:38] It's been an absolute honor [2:40] and privilege to work with so many of you [2:42] from Stern Signature Projects, Board Fellows, [2:44] Entertainment and Media Solutions. [2:47] You all have brought so much joy to my role [2:49] and I know you're going to make an impact [2:50] in the spaces that you're entering. [2:52] Congratulations again. [2:54] - Congratulations to all. [2:55] A special thank you to those of you [2:57] who have taken my operations class. [3:00] As you move forward, [3:02] I would like to share with you a few reflections. [3:05] Bottlenecks are real. Variability is inevitable. [3:09] Data-driven decision-making is an essential tool. [3:13] Life, just like managed operations [3:15] require making thoughtful trade offs [3:18] and navigating uncertainty. [3:21] I wish you best of luck for your next chapter. [3:24] - Congratulations, graduates. [3:25] You've made it through countless late nights [3:27] and group projects, mastered the art of IQ and EQ, [3:30] and yes, now you can finally delete that campus groups app. [3:35] I'd especially like to shout out the students [3:36] from this year's DBi Morocco and DBi South Africa, [3:40] our incredible club leaders, [3:41] and of course my fellow Langone graduating classmates. [3:44] Thank you all for making Stern [3:45] such a wonderful place to work and learn [3:47] and we are so excited to see what you do next, [3:50] Class of 2025. [3:51] - Congratulations to our graduates. [3:53] As you head out, [3:54] I want to leave you with two pieces of advice. [3:56] The first is to set your sights high, [3:58] and don't convince yourself [3:59] that what's good enough is great. [4:01] The second is to remember that success isn't just about [4:04] what you achieve, but how you achieve it. [4:07] Congratulations again, and keep in touch. [4:09] - Hi, Sternies, this will not be a difficult conversation. [4:13] Congratulations, and remember, [4:16] have the hard-but-worth-it conversations, [4:18] be the exception to the norm, [4:20] and go create the worlds you wanna live in. [4:23] We're so proud of you. [4:24] - What an incredible honor it's been [4:26] to be a part of your journey. [4:27] Whether it was sending you on a DBi, [4:29] faculty-led travel course, exchange program, [4:32] or cheering you on from New York City. [4:35] Please keep exploring [4:36] and never lose the incredible spirit [4:38] that brought you to NYU Stern. [4:39] I'm looking forward to seeing your next adventure. [4:42] Congratulations to the Class of 2025. [4:44] - Congratulations, class. [4:46] As your business law professor, [4:48] I wanna leave you with one final reflection: fiduciary duty. [4:52] Over your time at Stern, we have done just that. [4:56] We shared ideas, vulnerability, and real life, [5:00] and in return, we gave one another kindness, respect, [5:04] and yes, lots of love. [5:06] So on your graduation, [5:08] my fiduciary duty to you does not end. [5:12] Congratulations, class. Congratulations, families, [5:15] and big, loving Stern hugs from me to all of you. [5:21] - Way to go. And welcome to the alumni community. [5:24] You couldn't be more excited to have you. [5:26] Keep your eyes open for invites to alumni events, [5:29] and I can't wait to see you there. [5:31] (lively music)