UCSB Will Graduate 5,958 Students in Eight Ceremonies
Posted: June 04, 2012
By SHELLY LEACHMAN
A TOTAL OF 5,958 graduating students will take part in eight official commencement ceremonies over eight days, starting June 10 and concluding June 17. The campus's commencement exercises attract some 40,000 visitors to the Santa Barbara area each year.
The ceremonies are organized by college, level of degree, and field of study. Chancellor Henry T. Yang will shake the hand of every student graduating from the College of Creative Studies, the College of Engineering, the College of Letters and Science, the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, and the Graduate Division.
The College of Creative Studies will lead off with its ceremony on Sunday, June 10, at 11 a.m., at Campbell Hall. The Bren School of Environmental Science & Management will conduct its ceremony on Friday, June 15, at 10 a.m., in the Bren Hall Courtyard.
On the weekend of Saturday, June 16, and Sunday, June 17, six ceremonies — three each day — will be held on the Faculty Club Green fronting the UCSB Lagoon.
A listing of ceremonies and guest speakers follows. Complete biographical information on all speakers is available at
http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/commencement/speakers.shtml.
Sunday, June 10, Campbell Hall
11 a.m. — College of Creative Studies
Guest Speaker — Richard A. Jefferson ‘78, chief executive officer of Cambia
Student Speakers — Monique Ambrose, biology; Nathan Saritzky, mathematics; Kevin Zambrano, literature
Friday, June 15, Bren Hall Courtyard
10 a.m. — Bren School of Environmental Science & Management
Guest Speaker — Mary D. Nichols, J.D., Chairman, California Air Resources Board
Saturday, June 16, Faculty Club Green
9 a.m. — Sciences
Guest Speaker –– Karen Bedrosian Coyne '91, chief operating officer, Bedrosian Trust
Student Speaker — Sheila Ganjian, biological sciences
1 p.m. — Engineering and Sciences
Guest Speaker — Jeff Henley '66, chairman of Oracle Corporation
Student Speakers — Emily Xiao, biology; Elan Benjamin Frantz, mechanical engineering
4 p.m. — Social Sciences I
Guest Speaker — Steven M. Hilton '74, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Student Speaker –– Nanor Balabanian, political science
Sunday, June 17, Faculty Club Green
9 a.m. — Social Sciences II
Guest Speaker — Richard Flacks, research professor of sociology
Student Speaker — Audrey Abeyta, communication
1 p.m. — Humanities and Arts
Guest Speaker — Jeff Greenfield, journalist and author
Student Speaker — Janet Lynn O'Neill, communication and theater
4 p.m. –– Graduate Division
Guest Speaker — Lisa Parks, professor and former chair of the Department of Film and Media Studies
Student Speaker — Indy Hurt, geography