UC Davis Announces Commencement Speakers

(Editor's note: You can watch UC Davis graduations held in ARC Pavilion live on webcast when they occur.)

Four community leaders -- the head of KVIE Public Television, the doctor behind the breast cancer stamp, the superintendent of the Sacramento City school district and the head of a real estate company -- will be guest speakers at the commencement ceremonies of the University of California, Davis, scheduled for June 11 through June 19.

As the university completes the academic year with 12 commencements, it will award an estimated 7,099 degrees -- including 5,694 undergraduate, 557 master's, 301 doctoral and 547 professional degrees. The School of Education will also recognize 135 students who have completed studies for teaching credentials.

School of Medicine

Balazs Imre "Ernie" Bodai, the Sacramento doctor who led the effort to establish the U.S. Postal Service's Breast Cancer Stamp, will speak at the School of Medicine's commencement at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 11, in the Mondavi Center.

Since the stamp was introduced seven years ago, more than 600 million have been sold, and more than $50 million has been raised to support breast cancer research. Bodai is now working to establish similar stamps in more than 30 countries.

A 1977 graduate of the UC Davis medical school, he is director of breast surgical services at Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento.

A total of 100 M.D. and eight Master of Public Health degrees will be awarded at the ceremony.

School of Education

Maggie Mejia, superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District since January 2004, will speak at the School of Education ceremony at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 15, in Freeborn Hall. She held earlier positions as a classroom teacher, principal, curriculum specialist, assistant superintendent and superintendent.

The school will recognize the recipients of 15 doctoral degrees and 120 master's degrees as well as 135 students who have completed studies for teaching credentials. The numbers for doctoral and master's degrees are included in totals for Graduate Studies.

Graduate Studies

Graduate Studies will award about 301 doctorates and 521 master's degrees at its ceremony in the ARC Pavilion at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 16.

Division of Biological Sciences

The Division of Biological Sciences will hold its ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, June 17, in the ARC Pavilion.

The division will recognize recipients of some 942 Bachelor of Science, 35 Bachelor of Arts, and three Bachelor of Arts and Science degrees. These numbers are included among those degrees awarded by the College of Letters and Science and by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

College of Engineering

The College of Engineering will confer about 602 B.S. degrees in a 3 p.m. ceremony Friday, June 17, in the ARC Pavilion.

School of Veterinary Medicine

The School of Veterinary Medicine will hold its graduation ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 17, in the ARC Pavilion. It will award 127 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees, 17 Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine degrees, six B.S. degrees and 40 certificates recognizing completion of residency.

College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

David Hosley, president and general manager at KVIE in Sacramento, will speak at both the 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. ceremonies of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in the ARC Pavilion Saturday, June 18.

He is a member of the board of directors of the UC Davis Foundation and on the executive committee of the dean's advisory council for the college. Hosley also serves as a board member for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, an activity of UC Davis Extension. UC Davis partners with KVIE to air its NewsWatch reports about the campus on the television station.

The college will award about 1,641 B.S. degrees in the two ceremonies.

Graduate School of Management

Jordan Schnitzer, president of Harsch Investment Properties, will speak at the commencement of the Graduate School of Management at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 18, in Freeborn Hall.

The real estate investment and development company, which owns and operates more than 100 properties in six Western states, is headquartered in Portland, Ore., and has a regional office and developments in West Sacramento.

The school will award Master of Business Administration degrees to 58 candidates from its full-time program and 87 from its Working Professionals program.

College of Letters and Science

The college will award about 2,494 B.A., 885 B.S., and 66 B.A.S. degrees -- for a total of 3,445 degrees -- in two programs at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 19, in the ARC Pavilion.

School of Law

At a ceremony May 21, the law school awarded 11 Master of Laws degrees and 175 Juris Doctor degrees. Tom Campbell, director of the state Department of Finance, spoke.

Degree Numbers

Numbers of degrees include those earned since last spring's commencement season, including those awarded at a December commencement, and estimates of those to be awarded at ceremonies this year.

The Office of Resource Management and Planning estimates the number of degrees to be awarded by the undergraduate colleges; Graduate Studies and the five professional schools estimate the number of degrees they will award. An audit of the actual number of degrees awarded is prepared later.

In 2003-04, the university awarded 7,188 degrees including 5,608 bachelor's, 810 master's, 371 doctoral and 399 professional degrees.

Media Resources

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

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