NC State University will celebrate the class of 2026 during its spring commencement ceremony in Carter-Finley Stadium at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 9. Harry Sideris, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Duke Energy, will deliver the commencement address to the university’s more than 7,400 graduates.

Sideris became CEO of one of the nation’s largest regulated energy utilities in April 2025 after serving in various leadership roles across his 30-year career with the company. Under his leadership, Duke Energy is focused on critical infrastructure investments to meet historic energy demands of growing regions, improving service to customers and communities, maintaining safety and operational excellence, and keeping costs as low as possible for its 10 million customers across six states.

In 1994, Sideris earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from NC State University. He and his wife, Catinna, created the Sideris Family Scholarship in 2021 to support NC State students pursuing a dual major in chemical engineering and paper science and engineering. From 2015 through 2023, he served as a member of the Natural Resources Foundation Board.

He also earned a Master of Business Administration from Campbell University in 1998 and completed the Advanced Management Program at the University of Chicago in 2017. He currently serves on the boards of directors for the Edison Electric Institute, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations and the World Association of Nuclear Operators, and he is also a member of the Business Roundtable and Charlotte Executive Leadership Council.

During the commencement ceremony, Chancellor Kevin Howell will confer honorary degrees on Anthony S. Bryk, president emeritus and senior fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Jaki Shelton Green, North Carolina’s Poet Laureate; and Deborah Hamrick, a respected leader in the horticultural industry.

Katie Sheats, associate dean of professional education and admissions and professor of equine primary care in the College of Veterinary Medicine, will be recognized for her recent UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching. The ceremony will also feature remarks from Tonya Henderson Gatling, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in leadership in the public sector.

For more information on the ceremony, visit the university’s commencement website.