Mathematics and sociology leaders to speak at UC Merced commencement

UC Merced’s 10th graduating class will hear keynote addresses from two innovative academic leaders, the university announced Wednesday.

Richard A. Tapia, a mathematician and professor at Rice University in Houston, and Cora B. Marrett, former deputy director and acting director of the National Science Foundation, will speak at the campus’s commencement ceremonies May 16 and 17.

This year, more than 1,100 students will participate in the two ceremonies – the largest in the school’s 10-year history. Both events will begin at 9 a.m at the South Bowl on campus.

During the first one, about 500 graduating students from the School of Natural Sciences and the School of Engineering will hear from Tapia.

Tapia is internationally known for his research in the computational and mathematical sciences, according to his website. He is also dubbed as a national leader in education and outreach programs.

In a press release, university officials highlighted Tapia’s major research contributions in the area of optimization theory and numerical analysis, described as the science of developing and analyzing methods for solving real-world problems using mathematics and computers.

In 1970, he became the first Latino faculty member in science and engineering at Rice University. He later served as the chair of the university’s mathematical sciences department for five years. Tapia has been credited with increasing the number of women and minorities studying math and science at Rice.

In 2011, Tapia was also presented the National Medal of Science, one of the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers. The National Research Council named him one of the 20 most influential leaders in the minority math education.

Tapia, who was the first in his family to attend college, earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics from UCLA.

During the second ceremony, another 625 graduating students from the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts will hear from Marrett, a well-known leader in the fields of education and sociology.

According to the release, Marrett is professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she served on the faculty for more than 30 years. She also served as provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, for four years before returning to UW-Madison in 2001 where she served as the senior vice president for academic affairs until 2007.

Marrett’s work has earned her the National Science Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award for her leadership as the agency’s first assistant director for the Social, Behavorial and Economic Sciences Board.

Marrett has also been recognized for leading NSF’s mission to achieve excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education at all levels. Marrett served as deputy director of the National Science Foundation from May 2011 until August 2014.

Marrett holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Virginia Union University, and master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from UW-Madison.

In the press release, Chancellor Dorothy Leland praised the contributions of both speakers. “We look forward to celebrating our graduates’ many accomplishments and hearing from two trailblazers in academia and champions of underrepresented minorities in education who have paved the way for young people to follow them.”

For more information on UC Merced’s commencement events, visit commencement.ucmerced.edu.

This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Mathematics and sociology leaders to speak at UC Merced commencement."