Onward, Upward and Forward
UCSB’s 2018 commencement activities to celebrate 6,784 graduates
By Suzanna Ackroyd for The Current
By the close of the 2017–2018 academic year, UC Santa Barbara will have awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees to a combined 6,784 students. The accomplishments of these graduates will be celebrated in eight official commencement ceremonies, to be held on campus over eight days, starting June 10 and concluding June 17.
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 Sunday, June 10, at 11 a.m. in Campbell Hall. The Bren School of Environmental Science & Management will conduct its ceremony 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 Commencement Green fronting the UCSB Lagoon.
All eight ceremonies will be webcast live. Over June 16-17, web coverage will be continuous, beginning at 8:30 a.m., running through and between the 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. events. The live stream can be accessed via the UCSB homepage or viewed here.
A listing of ceremonies and guest speakers follows. Complete biographical information on all guest speakers is available on the UCSB commencement website.
Sunday, June 10, Campbell Hall
11 a.m. — College of Creative Studies
Guest Speaker — Danna Staaf ’04, freelance writer and science communicator
Friday, June 15, Bren Hall Courtyard
10 a.m. — Bren School of Environmental Science & Management
Guest Speaker — Das Williams ’05, Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor, Bren School Dean’s Council member
Saturday, June 16, Commencement Green
9 a.m. — Mathematical, Life & Physical Sciences I
Guest Speaker — Roy Hardiman ’81,’83, chief business officer, Principia Biopharma
Student Speaker — Yury Galvez, sociology, biology
1 p.m. — Mathematical, Life & Physical Sciences II
Guest Speaker — Kristi Barens ’87, principal and founder, Mullin Barens Sanford Financial
Student Speaker — Yinxuan Gu, mathematics
4 p.m. — Social Sciences I
Guest Speaker — Marcos Vargas ’80, executive director, The Fund for Santa Barbara
Student Speaker — Shanna Benji, communication
Sunday, June 17, Commencement Green
9 a.m. — Humanities & Fine Arts/Social Sciences II
Guest Speaker — Katy Tur ’05, author and broadcast journalist
Student Speaker — Cordelia Watson, theater and dance
1 p.m. — College of Engineering
Guest Speaker — Alexis Black Björlin ’00, corporate vice president, Intel Data Center Group
Student Speaker — Jordan Ang, computer engineering
4 p.m. — Graduate Division
Guest Speaker — Stephanie Couch ’12, executive director, Lemelson-MIT Program
Student Speaker — Eric Jorgensen, Ph.D., theater and dance
Contact Info:
Shelly Leachman
(805) 893-8726
shelly.leachman@ucsb.edu