by Audrey Jean Griffith
Staff Writer
As candidates for graduation from the University of La Verne, graduates are invited to participate in Commencement Ceremonies on the weekend of May 26 and the 27. ULV will issue diplomas to approximately 2,000 graduates this year and about 1,300 graduates will participate in both ceremonies.
If graduates were sent a cap and gown pre-reservation card as an early confirmed graduate, and returned it or filled it out by April 4, a pre-measured packet will be ready for pick-up May 22 at 2 p.m. in the Old Gymnasium. For those graduates who did not receive a pre-reservation card, there are rentals available for all graduates.
All candidates, relatives, and friends are invited to the Baccalaureate Service at the Church of the Brethren on Saturday, May 26, at 3 p.m. Candidates must wear their academic regalia and must arrive at 2:30 p.m. for robing and line-up. The service will last about one hour.
The guest speaker for the Baccalaureate Service is Lee Krahenbuhl, who teaches Communication Studies at Manchester College in Indiana and received his doctorate in theater from the University of Oregon. His sermon is entitled “A Change of Clothes.”
The 109th Undergraduate Ceremony for Bachelor and Associate candidates will begin at 5:30 p.m., on Saturday, May 26. The ceremony will be held at Ortmayer Stadium. The stadium will be open for seating at 4 p.m. All information is available in the commencement booklets. All associate and bachelor degree students need to arrive on campus by 4:15 p.m. for robing and line-up instructions in the Student Center.
Admission tickets will be required for the undergraduate ceremony only. Each graduate will be given 10 tickets. Seating is available on a first-come first-serve basis in chairs on the field or in the grandstand bleachers.
Undergraduate guest speaker, Alex Padilla, was a Los Angeles City Council Member since June 1999. He serves as chair of the City Council’s Information Technology and General Studies committee.
Padilla began his career in public service as an educational counselor at the University of the Pacific and later worked in the office of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.
The all-you-can-eat “2001 Commencement Breakfast,” in Davenport Dining Hall, will be held on Sunday, May 27, from 7 to 9 a.m. The cost is $9.95 for adults and $6.95 for children 12 and under. Reservations are required.
Guest seating for the graduate ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m. No admission tickets are required. Robing for masters, doctor of educational leadership, and doctor of public administration candidates will begin at 8:15 a.m. in the Student Center, and the commencement ceremony will take place at Ortmayer Stadium at 9:30 a.m.
Kathryn M. Downing, graduate ceremony speaker, is a former chief executive officer and board member of My Potential, Inc. Downing served as publisher, president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Times prior to joining My Potential. She received her bachelor’s of arts degree in economics from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore., and law degree from Stanford University.
Both programs include remarks to the graduates and guests by President Stephen Morgan, deans of various schools and colleges and special speakers. The undergraduate ceremony will last approximately three hours, while the graduate ceremony will last about two hours.
The College of Law commencement and hooding ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Brethren. College of Law students should arrive at the church by 1:30 p.m. for robing instructions.
Guest speaker, Michael J. Bidart, Esq., received his JD from Pepperdine University and is partner in the Claremont firm of Shernoff, Bidart and Darras.
Bidart was named trial lawyer of the year by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice. He is a member of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association, the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys of California and the State Bar of California.
Graduates are asked to wear nice and casual to semi-formal attire for the commencement ceremony. It is recommended that graduates wear sunglasses, but they must be taken off before crossing the stage. Other articles, other than flowers or leis, will not be permitted during the event.
Vendors will be selling ULV clothing, memorabilia, class rings, flowers and leis, and graduation items in the University Quad on Saturday, May 26 from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m., and on Sunday, May 27, from 8 a.m. to noon.
Class rings can be ordered from the ULV Bookstore, or visit the Jostens College Service representative on campus during commencement week.
Parking is limited on and around campus. Cars will be towed if parked in non-designated areas. If unable to find a parking space, the graduate should be dropped off in front of Miller Hall, and the driver should proceed to locate a parking space.
For the undergraduate ceremony only, a shuttle service will be provided one mile west on Bonita Avenue in a shopping center on the north west corner of San Dimas Canyon Road. Shuttle service will begin at 4:30 p.m.
Journalism operations manager at the University of La Verne. Production manager and business manager of the Campus Times.