Onward, Upward and Forward

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.

A listing of ceremonies and guest speakers follows.

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 — Kum-Kum Bhavnani, UC Santa Barbara professor of sociology

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