Sarah Ann Wider Named SUA's 2026 Commencement Speaker

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Soka University of America has announced Dr. Sarah Ann Wider, emerita professor of English and women's, gender, and sexuality studies at Colgate University, as the keynote speaker for its 2026 commencement ceremony, to be held May 22 in the Soka Performing Arts Center.

"Sarah Ann Wider has spent her career teaching students to see themselves in relationship - to literature, to the natural world, to people with different backgrounds and experiences than their own," said SUA President Edward M. Feasel. "Her work reflects the spirit of dialogue, empathy, and global citizenship that we seek to foster in our graduates."

A distinguished scholar of American literature, Wider spent nearly four decades teaching at Colgate University, where she developed a wide-ranging curriculum centered on Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Transcendentalist movement, feminist autobiographical writing, and Native American literature. As former president of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Society, she has made enduring contributions to the study of Emerson and the broader American Renaissance.

Wider is also known for her dialogue with SUA founder Daisaku Ikeda. Their book, "The Art of True Relations: Conversations on the Poetic Heart of Human Possibility," explores the role of literature, dialogue, and ethical leadership in fostering compassionate global citizenship. Through this work and her continued engagement with the Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue, Wider has remained deeply connected to the values embodied in Soka education.

Throughout her career, Wider has emphasized the transformative potential of dialogue as the foundation for peace. "True exchanges of opinion are impossible unless the parties involved know something about each other," she has said. "Only then does dialogue have the power to cultivate peace and promote a philosophy of compassionate understanding throughout the world."

This belief in learning through difference forms the core of Wider's teaching and scholarship. She has long advocated for an approach to education grounded in respect, curiosity, and a willingness to engage perspectives beyond one's own. "Dialogue is about demonstrating respect for another's life," she has said, "and being determined to learn when confronted with differences in personality and perspective."

During a recent visit to SUA, Wider delivered a University Talk on "Dialogue's Poetic Heart: Daisaku Ikeda's Ethos of Encouragement," drawing on Transcendentalist literature, contemporary Native American poetry, and her dialogue with Ikeda to explore how genuine human connection can nourish creativity, empathy, and social transformation.

Wider spoke about what distinguishes SUA from other institutions. "What I think is hopeful here in particular," Wider said, "is that the students are already thinking about how, even though they'll be graduating, the learning carries through their lives. It continues. And there are a lot of things that are built into the curriculum that makes it much more focused on that continuity of learning across a lifetime."