Jessica Jackley, Kathleen Sebelius among prominent UCLA commencement speakers
Kathleen Sebelius
Entrepreneur Jessica Jackley and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius are among the prominent speakers delivering remarks at UCLA's various commencement ceremonies, which are now underway and will run through Saturday, June 16.
During commencement season, the university confers thousands of bachelor's, master's, doctoral and professional degrees at ceremonies held at venues across the Westwood campus. The season began on May 11 with the School of Law commencement, at which Chai Feldblum, commisioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission spoke.
UCLA's largest commencement event is the College of Letters and Science ceremony on Friday, June 15, when Jackley will deliver the keynote address to approximately 4,500 students and a large audience of family and friends at Drake Stadium on campus.
Jackley co-founded the innovative peer-to-peer micro-lending website Kiva, which allows Internet users to lend as little as $25 to individual entrepreneurs, providing capital to help them start or expand small businesses. Kiva has facilitated nearly $300 million in loans among individuals in more than 200 countries.
Sebelius will speak at the Fielding School of Public Health ceremony, also on June 15. The former governor of Kansas, Sebelius became Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2009 and has led ambitious efforts to improve the health of Americans and enhance delivery of services to some of the nation's most vulnerable populations. In 2011, Forbes magazine named her the 13th most powerful woman in the world.
UCLA's commencement ceremonies and speakers are (in order of occurrence):
Antonia Hernandez, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation and a UCLA alumna, will speak at the David Geffen School of Medicine Hippocratic Oath ceremony on Friday, June 1, at 5 p.m. in Dickson Court North.
Dr. Michael E. Phelps, UCLA's Norton Simon Professor and chair of the department of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine, will speak at the School of Dentistry ceremony on Sunday, June 3, at 10 a.m. at Royce Hall.
Wendy Greuel, Los Angeles city controller and a UCLA alumna, will speak at the Luskin School of Public Affairs ceremony on Friday, June 15, at 9 a.m. at Royce Hall.
Guy Kawasaki, an author, technology guru and entrepreneur who earned his M.B.A. at UCLA, will speak at the Anderson School of Management ceremony on Friday, June 15, at 4 p.m. in Wilson Plaza.
Ron Meyer, the president and COO of Universal Studios, will speak at the School of Theater, Film and Television ceremony, Friday, June 15, at 4 p.m. in Dickson Court North. The ceremony will include a tribute to the school's founding dean, Gilbert "Gil" Cates, who died last year at the age of 77.
Jessica Jackley will speak at the College of Letters and Science ceremony on Friday, June 15, at 5 p.m. in Drake Stadium. Student speaker Madeline "Maddy" Grubman, 22, a communications studies major from Lafayette, Calif., will introduce Jackley.
Kathleen Sebelius will speak at the Fielding School of Public Health ceremony on Friday, June 15, at 5:30 p.m. at Royce Hall.
Patricia Grady, director of the National Institute for Nursing Research, will speak at the School of Nursing ceremony on Saturday, June 16, at 8 a.m. at Royce Hall.
Wanda M. Austin, president and CEO of the Aerospace Corp., will speak at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science ceremony on Saturday, June 16, at 9 a.m. in Drake Stadium.
Aimée Dorr, outgoing dean of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, will deliver remarks at the GSE&IS ceremony on Saturday, June 16, at 4 p.m. in Wilson Plaza.
Judith Baca, a professor in the UCLA Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies and the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, will speak at the School of the Arts and Architecture ceremony on Saturday, June 16, at 4 p.m. in Dickson Court North.
Other UCLA commencement events include:
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The Graduate Division doctoral hooding ceremony on Thursday, June 14, at 3 p.m. at Royce Hall. (UCLA Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh and Graduate Division Dean Robin L. Garrell will deliver remarks.)
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The College of Letters and Science honors ceremony on Friday, June 15, at 2:30 p.m. at Royce Hall. (UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and College of Letters and Science Dean and Vice Provost Judith L. Smith will speak.)
There will also be numerous departmental graduation ceremonies and special celebrations.
For general commencement information, updates and details on ceremonies for particular schools and programs, visit www.commencement.ucla.edu.
UCLA is California's largest university, with an enrollment of nearly 38,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The UCLA College of Letters and Science and the university's 11 professional schools feature renowned faculty and offer 337 degree programs and majors. UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. Six alumni and five faculty have been awarded the Nobel Prize.
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