USC announces speakers for commencement satellite ceremonies

Internationally acclaimed dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, TV host Jimmy Kimmel and actress Kristen Bell are among the featured speakers.

Contact: USC Media Relations, uscnews@usc.edu or (213) 740-2215

The University Park Campus will be filled with more than 60,000 Trojan Family members when USC’s 136th commencement ceremony is held Friday, May 10.

U.S. Representative Karen Bass, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and the first African American woman to serve as leader of a state legislative body, will deliver the commencement address.

Seven honorary degree recipients will be recognized for their contributions as humanitarian, artistic, philanthropic, scientific and civic leaders. The honorary degree recipients are Bass, conductor Arthur C. Bartner, dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, philanthropists Edythe and Eli Broad, statistician Emery Neal Brown and humanitarian Cindy Hensley McCain.

More than 19,000 degrees will be conferred during USC’s commencement, either at the main ceremony in Alumni Park or one of the satellite ceremonies across campus.

Degree candidates, Half Century Trojans, faculty and distinguished guests will form a processional leaving Bovard Auditorium at 8:30 a.m. USC interim President Wanda M. Austin will preside over the main ceremony at 9 a.m. in Alumni Park.

On Saturday, May 11, the Keck School of Medicine of USC will hold its satellite ceremony for MS, PhD and MPH graduates. The speaker will be Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health director.

The speaker at the Keck School of Medicine of USC’s satellite ceremony for MD graduates, also on May 11, will be television host Jimmy Kimmel.

The baccalaureate ceremony for USC degree candidates and their families will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, at Bovard Auditorium. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will deliver the keynote address at the nondenominational interfaith celebration. The baccalaureate dinner will follow at 6:30 p.m. on Pardee Way.

The Reserve Officers Training Corps joint commissioning ceremony will be held Saturday, May 11, at Bovard Auditorium. The speaker will be Lt. Gen. John F. Thompson, Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base.

On Friday, May 10, diplomas will be presented at satellite ceremonies for individual schools and will feature the following speakers:

USC School of Architecture
Gabrielle Bullock, principal, Perkins+Will

USC Roski School of Art and Design
Margaret Lazzari, professor of art, USC Roski School of Art and Design

USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy
Gary Vitti, former Los Angeles Lakers athletic trainer

USC Marshall School of Business (Graduate)
Michelle Witteman Taylor, president, M. Taylor Associates LLC.

USC School of Cinematic Arts
Donna Langley, chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment

USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Maverick Carter, media innovator and entrepreneur

USC Kaufman School of Dance
Mikhail Baryshnikov, dancer and actor

Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC
Lawrence Tabak, principal deputy director, National Institutes of Health

USC School of Dramatic Arts (Undergraduate)
Kristen Bell, actress

USC School of Dramatic Arts (Graduate)
Nnamdi Asomugha, actor/producer

USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
Mei-Lee Ney, president, Richard Ney & Associates Asset Management

USC Rossier School of Education
Sal Khan, founder, Khan Academy

USC Viterbi School of Engineering (Graduate)
Ali Velshi, anchor and business correspondent, NBC News

USC Viterbi School of Engineering (Graduate Computer Science)
Luiz Barroso, Google Fellow and vice president of engineering, Google Geo Platform team

USC Viterbi School of Engineering (Undergraduate)
Yoky Matsuoka, vice president of product management, Google

USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy
Matthew Segal, co-founder, ATTN:

USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Jonathan Kellerman, ’74, author

USC Gould School of Law, (JD graduates)
Scott H. Bice, Robert C. and Nanette T. Packard Professor of Law, USC

USC Gould School of Law (Graduate and International Programs)
Nina Hachigian, deputy mayor of international affairs, City of Los Angeles

Keck School of Medicine of USC, Health Promotion and Global Health Programs
Serineh Voskanian Melidonian, emergency physician

Keck School of Medicine of USC, Physician Assistant Program
Timi Agar Barwick, CEO, Physician Assistant Education Association

USC Thornton School of Music
Gregg Field, producer, musician and educator

USC School of Pharmacy
Leonard D. Schaeffer, USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics

USC Price School of Public Policy
Kristina Raspe, vice president for global real estate and facilities, Apple

USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
John Clapp, interim dean, USC Suzanne Dworak- Peck School of Social Work

USC Bovard College
Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author

USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
Semira Dariushnia, family medicine physician and USC Chan Board of Councilors member

Other satellite ceremony speakers will be posted on individual schools’ websites.

For more information about USC commencement, visit commencement.usc.edu.

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