Commencement Exercises Begin This Week At UC Davis

This spring 5,201 graduates are expected to receive diplomas at the University of California, Davis, in a series of commencement exercises that begins Saturday, May 20, and ends Sunday, June 18, as individuals graduate from three colleges and four professional schools. The number of students expected to complete their undergraduate studies this spring comes to 2,260, bringing the total number of undergraduate diplomas awarded this academic year to 3,860. The number of students receiving graduate or professional degrees is 1,341. The first ceremony of the spring is for the School of Law, which has 168 candidates eligible for doctor of law degrees. The commencement program will take place Saturday, May 20, at 1:30 p.m. in Recreation Hall. UC Davis law school alumna Jane Restani, a judge in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, will deliver the graduation address. On Friday, June 9, the School of Medicine will award Doctor of Medicine degrees to 73 students at a 6 p.m. ceremony in the Health Sciences Quadrangle. Dr. Michael W. Chapman, professor and chair of orthopaedic surgery department at the medical school, will be the keynote speaker. A renowned medical educator, Chapman also is a skilled surgeon who recently earned the medical school and center a $5 million donation for musculoskeletal research. The School of Veterinary Medicine will hold its graduation ceremony Saturday, June 10, at 10 a.m. in Recreation Hall. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees will be awarded to 116 students. In addition, 11 students will receive a Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine degree and 26 students will receive certificates of residency. Bradford P. Smith, director of the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and professor of medicine and epidemiology, will be the faculty speaker. On Thursday, June 15, Graduate Studies will award 892 graduate degrees to students in a 6:30 p.m. ceremony in Recreation Hall. Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Robert Grey will preside over the graduation ceremony. During the evening event, 556 master's degrees and 334 doctorates will be awarded to students. In addition, two students will receive candidate in philosophy degrees. The College of Engineering will give diplomas to 408 students in a ceremony Friday, June 16, at 6:30 p.m. in Recreation Hall. Chancellor Larry N. Vanderhoef will preside over the graduation ceremony. Marcellus Tabor, a mechanical and aeronautical engineering major, will be the student commencement speaker. The Graduate School of Management will hold its graduation ceremony Saturday, June 17, in Freeborn Hall, awarding Master of Business Administration degrees to 55 students at 10 a.m. Mary Agnes Wilderotter, senior vice president of McCaw Cellular Communications, will be the commencement speaker. On Saturday, June 17, approximately 2,332 students in the College of Letters and Science are expected to graduate in two separate programs in Recreation Hall. Richard W. Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education, will be the commencement speaker at the morning program, which begins at 9 a.m. Vic Fazio, U.S. congressman, will be the afternoon commencement speaker beginning at 2:30 p.m. The Division of Biological Sciences will hold its graduation ceremony for 721 students who are expected to graduate on Sunday, June 18. (These biological science majors are included in the number of graduating seniors provided by the College of Letters and Science and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.) Vanderhoef will preside at the ceremony at 2:30 p.m. in Recreation Hall. The final ceremony of the year will also be on Sunday, June 18, when approximately 1,120 students in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are expected to receive their bachelor's degrees at 9 a.m. in Recreation Hall. Charles E. Hess, former dean of the college and director of the college's international programs, will be the commencement speaker. He served as dean from 1975 to 1989 and has received presidential appointments as vice chair of the National Science Board and assistant secretary for science and education in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Vanderhoef will preside at the college's commencement program.

Media Resources

Julia Ann Easley, General news (emphasis: business, K-12 outreach, education, law, government and student affairs), 530-752-8248, jaeasley@ucdavis.edu