Congrats, Class of 2014!
UCSC's Class of 2014 is filled with students who are ready to make a difference in the world. Click here for a look at three.
Commencement ceremonies at UC Santa Cruz are scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 13-15, hosted by UCSC's 10 colleges, as well as the graduate division and the Baskin School of Engineering.
Profesor Karen Litfin, of the University of Washington, will speak at College Eight's commencement ceremony.
A number of less formal celebrations will be held throughout the weekend beginning June 12. A complete list of commencement events including times, locations and speakers can be found at specialevents.ucsc.edu/commencement. Grads and their guests can share photos from commencement weekend on social media by using the #ucscalumni hashtag. We'll post the photos on the UCSC alumni website.
More than 4,300 UCSC students are earning undergraduate and graduate degrees for work completed during the 2013-2014 academic year. A total of 3,868 students are candidates for bachelor degrees for work completed in the arts, engineering, humanities, physical and biological sciences, and social sciences. Spring candidates for bachelor degrees total 2,495, according to the UC Santa Cruz registrar's office. Another 1,373 completed coursework and applied for their degree in the summer, fall, or winter quarters.
Additionally, 198 doctorate degrees will be awarded, including 98 to graduate students who have applied for a June degree. Another 225 students are eligible to receive master degrees; 108 have been awarded already and 117 students have applied for a June degree. Approximately 160 graduate students are expected to participate in commencement ceremonies, Friday, June 13
Sixty-seven additional students are scheduled to complete UCSC's education teaching credential and master's degree program late summer, and a small number of students will receive graduate certificates in other fields.
Several UCSC alums are returning to deliver keynote speeches to their aluma mater. Several professors are speaking as well and each college ceremony will feature select student speakers.
Kati London, who researches the social impact of video games, will speak at Crown's.
Kati London, a senior researcher at Microsoft and expert on how video games have a social impact, is set to speak to Crown graduates Sunday morning June 15. Previously, London was director of product for Zynga, New York. She was named one of the “Top 35 Innovators Under 35” by MIT's Technology Review Magazine in 2010), and “Top 100 Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company magazine in 2011.
Professor Karen Litfin, a specialist in global environmental politics at the University of Washington, will speak at College Eight's ceremony Saturday, June 14.
Valery Rashkov, a research scientist at Pandora, will speak at the graduate ceremony Friday, June 13. Rashkov received his Ph.D. at UCSC in astronomy and astrophysics in 2013. At Pandora he is involved in developing algorithms that comb through massive amounts of data to create playlists for listeners.
Cowell College alumnus Joshua Aronson, associate professor of applied psychology at New York University, will return to speak at Cowell's ceremony Saturday, June 14. Aronson, son of UCSC emeritus professor of psychology Elliot Aronson, graduated in 1986 with a degree in psychology.
Watsonville mayor and Kresge alumna Karina Cervantez ('03 psychology) will speak at Kresge's commencement Saturday afternoon, June 14. Cervantez also earned her MA in psychology at UCSC and is in the Ph.D. program.
Professor Darrick Smith (Oakes '96) will speak at Oakes' commencement.
Oakes College will feature Darrick Smith (Oakes, '96, sociology), now assistant professor of leadership studies at University of San Francisco. Smith has been co-director and principal of the June Jordan School for Equity and the Center Director of LearningWorks, an organization that works to strengthen student achievement in California community colleges.
Several UCSC professors are scheduled to make commencement speeches including Sean Keilen, associate professor of literature and Porter College provost, at Porter College's ceremony Saturday, June 14. History professor Dana Frank, an authority on contemporary Honduras and modern Honduran history, will speak at Stevenson College Sunday, June 15.
Flora Lu, associate professor of environmental studies who was recently named provost for College Nine and College Ten, will speak to Merrill College graduates Saturday morning, June 14.
Phillip Hammack, associate professor of psychology, will deliver College Ten's commencement speech Sunday, June 15 and Shelly Grabe, assistant professor of psychology, will speak at College Nine's ceremony later that same day.
The Baskin School of Engineering will hold a separate commencement ceremony Sunday, June 15 with a keynote address by DJ Patil, vice president at RelateIQ, a relationship software company. Patil has worked with LinkedIn, Skype, PayPal and eBay and is credited with co-coining the term "data scientist." Forbes ranked him No. 2 on its "data scientist" list in 2011 behind only Larry Page of Google.
