May 14, 2004

More Than 4,500 University Of California, San Diego
Students To Graduate At Rites June 6 And June 13, 14

By Pat JaCoby

“I’ve been brought here to warn you
Of the stress and the strife
That you’ll face as you bravely ride forth into Life
So I’ve compended a compendium of gruesome grim items
Of stuff that should scare you
Ad-in-fin-it-tye-tums.”

So noted the late Theodor Seuss Geisel in his 1978 Revelle College commencement address at the University of California, San Diego—an address that will be repeated by his widow during one of five undergraduate and two graduate commencement ceremonies to be held June 12 and 13 on the La Jolla campus.

Preceding those weekend graduations for 4,400 will be rites at 11 a.m. June 6 for 120 graduates of the UCSD School of Medicine on the school’s east lawn. Helen Ranney, M.D., professor emeritus of medicine and former chair of the Department of Medicine, will speak on “The Gateway to the Youngest Science.”

Audrey Geisel, widow of the famed “Dr. Seuss,” will repeat the poem he wrote for the 1978 Revelle commencement during ceremonies for this year’s class of 750 graduates at 8:30 a.m. June 13 on the Recreation and Intramural Athletic Complex (RIMAC) field. This “Seussentennial year” commemorates Theodor Seuss Geisel’s 100th birthday. The late author’s commencement poem/speech gained notoriety for its brevity, some three and one-half minutes long, according to Ernie Mort, dean emeritus. “We handed out copies of the poem in scrolls to the graduates,” he noted, “then the author spent an hour after the ceremony graciously autographing the scrolls or copies of his books.” Audrey Geisel will be introduced by Richard C. Atkinson, president emeritus of the University of California.

Nearby, in the RIMAC Arena, some 600 graduates of Eleanor Roosevelt College will receive their diplomas at 9 a.m. June 13. Tom Cardoza, former lecturer in ERC’s Making of the Modern World series, will give the commencement address on “Choices.” Cardoza currently serves as professor of humanities at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nev.

A 2 p.m. ceremony on the 13th will be held in RIMAC Arena for more than 200 graduates of the Graduate Studies and Research division, while the fourth graduation of the day will be held at 2:30 p.m. on the RIMAC field for 1,000 graduates of Earl Warren College. Vivian Doan of Oak Park, Ca., will be student speaker for the Warren graduation.

Meanwhile, the preceding day, approximately 990 Thurgood Marshall College graduates will be honored during 8:30 a.m. June 12 ceremonies on RIMAC field.

The commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. June 12 for 110 graduates of the International Relations/Pacific Studies Graduate School will mark the last usage for the IR/PS courtyard; a larger class next year necessitates another location. Guest speaker will be Richard L. Sandor, Ph.D., chairman and CEO of Environmental Financial Products, specialists in developing and trading in new environmental, financial and commodity markets.

Also on June 12, Muir College will hold its 36th commencement for 750 graduates at 2:30 p.m. on RIMAC field. The unique event begins with a brace of bagpipers—honoring John Muir’s Scottish origins—leading the procession of faculty and seniors. Selected members of the class who will deliver remarks are Seth Klonsky of Rohnert Park, who will receive a B.A. in economics, and Ruba Samir Batniji of Diamond Bar, Ca., who will receive a B.A. in history.

Additional information may be found at websites for the five undergraduate colleges and three graduate schools.

Media Contact: Pat JaCoby, (858) 534-7404