Irvine, Calif., June 3, 2002 -- UC Irvine will hold its 37th commencement Saturday, June 15. At six ceremonies to be held throughout the day in Aldrich Park and the Bren Events Center, an estimated 4,533 graduate and undergraduate degrees will be awarded. Attendance is projected to be 40,000.

Doctorates and master's degrees will be conferred to 850 graduates, and bachelor's degrees will be awarded to 3,683 undergraduates. In a College of Medicine ceremony June 1, 90 M.D.s were granted.

The 452 students graduating with academic honors include 38 who will graduate summa cum laude, 116 magna cum laude and 298 cum laude. In addition, 253 students will be recognized with awards and prizes for academic excellence, such as the Dean's Academic Achievement award, the Order of Merit award and ArtsBridge scholarships. Honors undergraduates will be recognized during a special celebration at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 14, in the Bren Events Center.

UCI Chancellor Ralph J. Cicerone will present the commencement welcoming address and present degrees according to the following schedule:

The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, School of Social Ecology, 9 a.m., Aldrich Park: Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James, a 1975 alumna of the School of Social Ecology, will speak at the ceremony. James was appointed to San Francisco's U.S. District Court in 1994, where she deals in federal civil matters like patents, civil rights, discrimination in the work place, trademarks and retirement payment issues.

Student speakers will be Ravi Gudlavalleti, who will receive a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering, and Jesse Springer Merritt, who will earn a bachelor's degree in psychology and social behavior, with a minor in film studies.

Gudlavalleti, a member of the Campuswide Honors Program, has been initiated into Pi Tau Sigma, the national Mechanical Engineering Honor Society, and has worked as a U.S. Space Camp counselor.

Springer Merrit, also a member of Campuswide Honors Program, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa her junior year and completed one year of study at the University of Leeds in England.

School of Physical Sciences, Department of Information and Computer Science, 11 a.m., Bren Events Center: The keynote speaker will be Dwight W. Decker, chair and CEO of Conexant Systems Inc. (formerly Rockwell Semiconductor Systems), the world's largest provider of semiconductor products for communications electronics. Decker, who joined Rockwell International Corp. in 1989, was senior vice president of Rockwell and president of Rockwell Semiconductor when it became a separately traded public company in 1999.

School of Biological Sciences, 1 p.m., Aldrich Park: Joseph S. Lacob, a 1978 UCI graduate of biological sciences, will present the keynote address. A partner at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, he has led the company's investments in more than 40 life science companies. Lacob also manages the firm's medical technology practice, which includes more than 30 therapeutic and diagnostic medical companies.

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts, School of Humanities, 3 p.m., Bren Events Center: Student Noelle Mason, who will graduate with a bachelor of arts degree in drama and studio art, has been selected to address graduates and their families. Mason wrote and performed in "Wireless City: Maximum Acceleration" and has been a member of "Live Nude People"--part of the California Commedia Troupe, a group dedicated to the creation and international touring of original commedias and masked theatrical productions.

Department of Education, School of Social Sciences, 5 p.m., Aldrich Park: The keynote speaker will be William Schonfeld, dean of social sciences. Schonfeld joined the faculty as an assistant professor of political science in 1970, was promoted to full professor in 1981 and became dean in 1982. He is the recipient of several prestigious university awards, including the Daniel G. Aldrich Jr. Distinguished University Service Award and the Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award for Teaching. He also has received the Lauds & Laurels Extraordinarius Award and the Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Students Leah Donahue, who will graduate summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in political science, and Han Kang, who will graduate with bachelor's degrees in international studies and biological science--magna cum laude and cum laude, respectively--will speak.

Donahue, a recipient of the Lauds & Laurels award for Outstanding Undergraduate, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship and the Dan and Jean Aldrich Scholarship for Outstanding Junior, also is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Campuswide Honors Program. She has interned at the White House in the Office of National AIDS Policy. Donahue will also speak at the Honors Convocation.

Kang was selected to Phi Beta Kappa and has received a Fulbright Fellowship to study in health policy, planning and finance at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. A member of the Campuswide Honors Program, he was named a Truman Scholar, a member of USA Today's All-American Academic Team and a Lauds and Laurels Outstanding Undergraduate.

Graduate School of Management, 7 p.m., Bren Events Center: Maria I. Chavez Wilcox, president of Orange County's United Way, has been selected to speak. Wilcox has more than 20 years experience with the United Way movement. During her tenure leading the organization, she has made tremendous strides in obtaining fiscal stability, increased revenue and strengthened overall management of the organization, which has enabled Orange County to allocate more dollars to agencies serving the community.

Commencement admission and parking will be free, with open seating. No tickets are required, but special seating and reserved parking will be available for the elderly and physically disabled, with transportation available from the reserved parking areas to the commencement sites. For more information, call Special Events Parking at (949) 824-8314 or the Commencement Office at (949) 824-6378.


Outstanding June 2002 Graduates Set their Sights on Success
Even before they receive their diplomas June 15, the following UC Irvine students are making their mark on society. Among UCI's best and brightest, they are available for interviews.

SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD GRADUATES CUM LAUDE
Mahmood Miah, 17, will graduate cum laude with a degree in physics. He'll head to Princeton University for graduate studies and hopes to pursue a career in plasma rockets. He began attending Golden West College part-time when he was 12, at the urging of his sixth grade math teacher. He skipped high school completely, taking classes at UCI beginning at age 15. Two years later, he's graduating with a GPA of 3.79. He's a member of the Campuswide Honors Program, the Physics Honors Program and has earned a U.S. Department of Energy Fusion Energy Sciences Fellowship. He also has been named a First Year Science and Engineering Fellow at Princeton. Miah lives in Fountain Valley with his mother and their dog. His mother is an adjunct lecturer in the community colleges, and as a child, he often went to class with her. Miah is a second generation American of Bangladeshi heritage. Miah can be reached at miahm@uci.edu.

A DAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANTS GIVES BACK THROUGH PUBLIC SERVICE
The daughter of Vietnamese political refugees who immigrated to the U.S., Ngoc-Tram Thi Tran has devoted herself to public service and fighting for social justice. She will graduate with double majors in Asian American studies and political science with a minor in management. Tran is actively involved in campus and community-based organizations working to mobilize and assist juveniles and underrepresented communities. A member of the Campuswide Honors Program and the Political Science Honors Program, she interned at the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium in Washington, D.C., working on anti-hate crimes. She is the recipient of the John Miltner Scholarship and the Ching-Sui Memorial Scholarship at UCI and of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship at UC Davis Law School where she plans to earn a degree in public interest law. She lives in Irvine with her family and can be reached at nttran@uci.edu.

HAN KANG HEADS TO UK AS FULBRIGHT FELLOW
Han Kang will graduate with honors in double majors-biological sciences and international studies-with a minor in epidemiology and public health. He has received the U.S. Fulbright Fellowship and will work toward a master's degree in health policy, planning and finance at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. A member of the Campuswide Honors Program, Han is a UC Regents Scholar, Wilson Fellow in Public Policy and International Affairs, Truman Scholar, McNair Scholar, Strauss Scholar, and member of USA Today's top All-American Academic Team. He has been active in ecological and HIV/AIDS research as well as peer health education and student leadership programs. In addition, he is an accomplished violinist and has played in an Orange County orchestra. He can be reached at (949) 509-0831 or kangh@uci.edu.

TRIPLE MAJOR FINDS LOVE AND CHEMISTRY AT UCI
Benjamin Johns is graduating cum laude with majors in dance, music performance and chemistry. This interdisciplinary combination makes perfect sense to him. "Chemistry tickles my brain in ways that dancing and music can't." A member of the Campuswide Honors Program and Phi Beta Kappa, he won the Chancellor's Award at the Undergraduate Research Symposium for his project, "The Neurobiological Basis for the Effect of Movement on the Voice: The Key to Singing Effectively." He recently wed his co-lead in last spring's production of "Pirates of Penzance." Johns plans to tour Mexico this summer with the UCI Chamber Choir, then spend next year looking into graduate schools with the long-term goal of becoming a professor as well as continuing to perform. He can be reached at (949) 651-6132 or bjohns@uci.edu.



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