--- title: Barack Obama at Rutgers: Commencement Address Transcript description: Here's what President Barack Obama told the Rutgers University graduating class during his commencement address on May 15 canonical: https://time.com/4340310/barack-obama-commencement-address-transcript-rutgers/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-02T18:37:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:38:34.090Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read Barack Obama's Commencement Address at Rutgers og:description: "In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue" og:url: https://time.com/4340310/barack-obama-commencement-address-transcript-rutgers/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7bf5759f9644952/698893bb3c1639b05a45d4ff/barack-obama-rutgers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3655 og:image:height: 2056 og:image:alt: Obama Delivers Commencement Address At Rutgers University og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read Barack Obama's Commencement Address at Rutgers twitter:description: "In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7bf5759f9644952/698893bb3c1639b05a45d4ff/barack-obama-rutgers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read President Obama's Commencement Address at Rutgers University > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=25e1768f-5190-4b6d-8415-74f1fbf91486&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jun 2, 2016 6:37 PM UTC  President Barack Obama speaks after receiving an honorary doctorate of laws during the 250th anniversary commencement ceremony at Rutgers University on May 15, 2016 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. President Barack Obama speaks after receiving an honorary doctorate of laws during the 250th anniversary commencement ceremony at Rutgers University on May 15, 2016 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jun 2, 2016 6:37 PM UTC President Barack Obama [delivered the commencement address](http://time.com/4336522/barack-obama-donald-trump-rutgers-university-speech/) at Rutgers University on May 15, indirectly criticizing Donald Trump by mentioning some of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s policies, including his plans to [build a Mexican border wall](http://time.com/4281926/donald-trump-mexico-border-wall-explanation/) and [ban Muslims](http://time.com/4324029/donald-trump-sadiq-khan-muslim-ban-london/) from entering the country. “In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue,” Obama said. “It’s not cool to not know what you’re talking about. That’s not keeping it real, or telling it like it is. That’s not challenging political correctness. That’s just not knowing what you’re talking about.” Here are the [full remarks](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/05/15/remarks-president-commencement-address-rutgers-state-university-new) from Obama’s speech on the Rutgers campus in Brunswick, New Jersey. --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4340310/barack-obama-commencement-address-transcript-rutgers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4340310/barack-obama-commencement-address-transcript-rutgers/"},"headline":"Read President Obama's Commencement Address at Rutgers University","datePublished":"2016-06-02T18:37:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:38:34.090Z","description":"\"In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue\"","url":"https://time.com/4340310/barack-obama-commencement-address-transcript-rutgers/","keywords":["Barack Obama","White House","transcripts"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7bf5759f9644952/698893bb3c1639b05a45d4ff/barack-obama-rutgers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7bf5759f9644952/698893bb3c1639b05a45d4ff/barack-obama-rutgers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Obama Delivers Commencement Address At Rutgers University","caption":"Obama Delivers Commencement Address At Rutgers University","creditText":"Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4340310/barack-obama-commencement-address-transcript-rutgers/","name":"Read President Obama's Commencement Address at Rutgers University"}}]}] ```