WNBA star and GW Athletics Hall of Famer Jonquel Jones will address the Class of 2025 as this year’s Commencement speaker, officials announced Thursday.
Jones, who plays for the New York Liberty, was drafted sixth overall in the 2016 WNBA after an illustrious college career at GW, where she earned both Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in her junior year. Jones’ achievements have mounted during her time in the pros, evidenced by her securing the 2021 WNBA MVP title in 2021 and finals MVP in 2024, after Liberty won the championship.
Jones’ name is dotted throughout the GW women’s basketball record book, including for two of the top three rebounding seasons and the fourth-best scoring average in program history, with 15.4 points per game.
During her junior and senior years, Jones helped lead GW to two consecutive A-10 Championships and NCAA tournament appearances. In a 2016 first-round tournament game against Kansas State University, Jones scored 11 points in the fourth quarter alone in an attempted comeback.
The athletics department inducted Jones into the GW Athletics Hall of Fame last February, where she reflected on her experience in Foggy Bottom and thanked former Head Coach Johnathan Tsipis and former Assistant Coach Diane Richardson.
“To this day, I’m happy that I chose GW,” Jones said at the event.
Jones came to GW in spring 2013 after transferring from Clemson University and studied criminal justice and law enforcement administration. She left GW in 2016 to pursue professional basketball and returned later to complete her degree in 2019.
Jones will receive an honorary Doctor of Humanities from the University at Commencement, according to a Thursday University release.
Jones, a Bahamian native and a member of the LBGTQ+ community, also serves as an advocate for inclusion in sports and has worked to promote the growth of women’s sports. USA Today named Jones one of the Women of the Year last month.
“Jonquel’s impressive and courageous journey exemplifies the spirit and values of George Washington University and offers an inspiring model to GW graduates in the commitment and passion she brings to her athletic endeavors as well as to her work as a voice for equity and inclusivity,” University President Ellen Granberg said in a release Thursday.
Granberg also announced that the University would grant honorary degrees at the ceremony to Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, (D-D.C.), Mark R. Shenkman, the founder and president of Shenkman Capital and a former trustee and GW alum, and Mark D. Lerner, the owner and chairman of the Washington Nationals, principal of real estate firm Lerner Enterprises and GW alum.
