UC Merced ramps up for weekend graduations

About 9,400 people are expected to attend ceremonies this weekend featuring their loved ones, many of whom are graduating from UC Merced.

As many as 1,116 people are set to walk the stage in what is UC Merced’s 10th graduating class, according to the latest numbers from university staff. Not all of those who walk have completed their schooling, so some may return in the fall for a final semester.

The university plans two ceremonies, both of which will take place in the South Bowl, a large grassy amphitheater near the center of campus. A crew worked Thursday to put the finishing touches on the stage, rows of chairs and walkways.

“This is a momentous occasion for our campus and for the graduates who will celebrate their well-earned accomplishments in front of family, friends, faculty and staff,” Chancellor Dorothy Leland said in a statement. “We are extremely proud of the members of this graduating class, and they will always hold a special place in our history.”

The group participating in the ceremony is the largest ever, according to staff members, surpassing last year’s 1,106 graduates. Those numbers are much higher than the school’s early days. The campus’s first graduating class in 2006 numbered just three.

This year, the campus is expected to hand out 1,075 bachelor’s degrees, 15 master’s degrees and 26 doctoral degrees during the ceremonies. The graduates come from around the state, and one is even from India. Students donning caps and gowns will range in age from 19 to 65 years old.

It’s unclear exactly how many students have family and friends traveling into town, but about 36.3 percent of all undergraduate students at UC Merced are from the Central Valley, 35.2 percent from Southern California, and 22 percent from the Central Coast and Bay Area.

This year’s graduation will not be accompanied by Cap ’n’ Town, a celebration that in the past has filled downtown with music and other festivities. Since 2009, when first lady Michelle Obama visited the school, the city has held the event.

The School of Natural Sciences and School of Engineering ceremony, which will feature about 500 students, is set for 9 a.m. Saturday on the 5200 N. Lake Road campus. The keynote speaker is Rice University mathematics professor Richard Tapia. The student speaker is Hatim Hanif, a biology major from Manteca.

The School of Social Sciences and Arts ceremony is planned for 9 a.m. Sunday. Cora Marrett, a former deputy director and acting director of the National Science Foundation, is to speak at that commencement. The student speaker is management major John Elias from Santa Rosa.

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

Several celebrations are planned Friday, as well as after the ceremonies. For more on those, go to http://commencement.campuscms.ucmerced.edu/graduation-events.

This story was originally published May 14, 2015 at 3:57 PM with the headline "UC Merced ramps up for weekend graduations."