UCLA Is Celebrating Achievements and Overcoming Pandemic Challenges
As UCLA’s graduation season unfolds, more than 9,000 undergraduate students and over 5,000 graduate students are preparing to mark this significant milestone. With over 70 ceremonies scheduled, the festivities reach their peak on June 16 with three ceremonies specifically honoring UCLA College graduates. These ceremonies, hosted at Pauley Pavilion, will collectively accommodate over 6,000 students receiving bachelor’s degrees and welcome over 23,000 guests.
Renowned actor, writer, and comedian Randall Park, a UCLA alumnus, will deliver speeches at all three College ceremonies, scheduled at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m. The ceremonies will commence with a special acknowledgment of the Gabrieleño peoples, the traditional caretakers of the land where UCLA’s campus is situated. Notably, this year, the land acknowledgment will be presented by Desirae Barragan, a student from the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians, at the first ceremony.
In a pioneering move, the College ceremonies will be sensory-inclusive, thanks to actor Randall Park’s connection with an organization called KultureCity. Attendees with sensory needs, including individuals with ADHD, autism, or post-traumatic stress disorder, will have access to a designated calming space and can borrow noise-canceling headphones and fidget toys. Park, who serves as a board member for KultureCity, facilitated this inclusion initiative.
The graduates span a wide range of ages, from 16 to 66, highlighting the diverse educational journeys undertaken at UCLA. Among the undergraduate cohort, most enrolled in 2019, just prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, making them the last class to experience a pre-pandemic UCLA and the first to undergo their entire college experience amidst the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
Noteworthy statistics about UCLA undergraduates include that over 30% of them are first-generation college graduates, and more than one-third of each incoming class consists of transfer students. Additionally, over 27% of UCLA undergraduates come from low-income families, 47% receive full tuition support, and 68% graduate without student loan debt.
The graduation season commenced on May 12 with the UCLA School of Law ceremony, featuring a keynote address by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Other distinguished speakers have included author, educator, and advocate Heather McGhee at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA graduation and business leader, dentist, and UCLA alumna Naomi Ellison at the UCLA School of Dentistry commencement.
The celebrations will continue until June 23, encompassing various ceremonies for individual schools, departments, and affinity groups. These include Lavender Graduation for LGBTQ+ students, Parenting Students’ Graduation, and ROTC commissioning ceremonies. Keynote speeches will be delivered by notable figures such as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, California Surgeon General Diana Ramos, Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian, musician and activist Martha Gonzalez, and performer and activist Kristina Wong.
Highlighted ceremonies in the upcoming schedule include UCLA Graduate Division’s doctoral hooding ceremony featuring keynote speaker Emma Pérez, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs commencement with keynote speaker Michael Tubbs, and the UCLA College graduation ceremonies with Randall Park as the keynote speaker.
The schedule is as follows:
Thursday, June 15
3:00 p.m. UCLA alumna Emma Pérez, an author and researcher at the University of Arizona, will deliver the keynote at the doctoral hooding ceremony for the UCLA Graduate Division in Royce Hall.
Friday, June 16
9:00 a.m. and 3 p.m. Michael Tubbs, special advisor for economic mobility and opportunity for the governor of California, will deliver the keynote at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs commencements. The ceremony for graduate students will take place at Royce Hall in the morning; the ceremony for undergraduate students will take place on the Kerckhoff Patio in the afternoon.
11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m. Randall Park will deliver the keynote at the three UCLA College graduation ceremonies in Pauley Pavilion.
2:00 p.m. UCLA alumna and filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood will deliver the keynote for the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television ceremony in Royce Hall.
4:00 p.m. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will deliver the keynote at the UCLA Anderson School of Management ceremony in Wilson Plaza.
4:00 p.m. UCLA alumna Martha Gonzalez, a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship — known as the “genius grant” — and musician, cultural theorist, and activist, will deliver the keynote at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music graduation in Dickson Court North.
5:30 p.m. UCLA alumna Dr. Diana Ramos, California’s surgeon general, will speak at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health graduation in Royce Hall.
Saturday, June 17
8:30 a.m. Kenneth White, president of the American Academy of Nursing, will deliver the keynote at the UCLA School of Nursing graduation in Royce Hall.
12:30 p.m. UCLA alumnus Asad Madni, former president, chief operating officer and chief technology officer of BEI Technologies, will deliver the keynote at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering’s undergraduate commencement in Pauley Pavilion.
4:00 p.m. Kristina Wong, performer, activist, and UCLA alumna, will deliver the keynote at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture graduation in Dickson Court North.
4:00 p.m. UCLA alumna Christina Christie, Wasserman Dean of the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, will deliver the keynote at that school’s graduation in Wilson Plaza.
6:30 p.m. Paul Krekorian, president of the Los Angeles City Council, will deliver the keynote at the UCLA International Institute’s graduation in Royce Hall.
Sunday, June 18
1:30 p.m. Asad Madni, former president, chief operating officer, and chief technology officer of BEI Technologies, will deliver the keynote address at UCLA Engineering’s graduate student commencement in Pauley Pavilion.
Friday, June 23
4:00 p.m. UCLA alumnus Stephen Cheung, president and CEO of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation and World Trade Center Los Angeles, will deliver the keynote address at the UCLA Extension certificate graduation in Royce Hall.
