Skip to content

Commencement Keynote Speakers

To recommend a keynote speaker for this year's Commencement ceremonies, fill out the keynote speaker nomination form online.

 

Commencement Speakers

Ted Mitchell

guest speaker ted mitchell

Ted Mitchell has served as president of the American Council on Education (ACE), themajor coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities, since September 2017. Mitchell and his team work closely with Congress, the executive branch, and the private sector to develop policies and innovative practices that serve our country’s postsecondary learners.

Mitchell’s leadership of ACE and the entire higher education community is informed by a career committed to increasing access to high-quality education and improving outcomes for all students. Mitchell served in the Obama administration as U.S. under secretary of education from 2014 to 2017 and was responsible for all post secondary education policies, such as initiatives focused on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, minority serving institutions, and federal student aid. Mitchell and his team at the Department of Education (ED) reinstated Pell Grants for incarcerated adults, created the College Scorecard, and restored millions of dollars to students who were defrauded by their institutions. Before joining ED, Mitchell served in a variety of higher education leadership roles, including as president of Occidental College (1999–2005); vice chancellor and dean at the University of California, Los Angeles; professor and department chair at Dartmouth College; and a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees.

itchell has also been a leader in K–12 education. He served as chief executive officer of the NewSchools Venture Fund—a venture philanthropy that invests in K–12 innovation to support low-income students, schools, and communities—and as president of the California State Board of Education. Throughout his career, Mitchell has worked to create an educational system that serves the goals of excellence, equity, and social justice.

Mitchell is a current board member of Coursera, Khan Academy, Occidental College, TIAA, Education Quality Outcomes Standards Board, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and Credential Engine.

Mitchell received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as his PhD, from Stanford University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Keith E. Alley, DDS, PhD.

guest speaker ka

Keith E. Alley, DDS, '68; PhD’72 had a distinguished career as a faculty member and administrator at three universities. As a professor of Bioscience and Anatomy at Case Western Reserve and Ohio State Universities his research focused on mechanisms of developmental neuromuscular plasticity. At Ohio State he also served in administrative positions at the Department, College and University levels. Alley was recruited to participate in the startup of the University of California-Merced as a founding faculty member in the School of Natural Sciences and as the Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies. During his decade at UC-Merced he also served as the Interim Vice Chancellor for Administration and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost for the six years prior to retiring in 2012. Since retiring he has been actively involved in community volunteer work and has traveled extensively to all seven continents. He was recognized as a distinguished alumnus of the University of Illinois in 2018.

 

 

Previous Keynote Speakers

Spring 2023
Ricardo Cisneros ('08), UC Merced Assistant Professor
Joseph Acaba, NASA Astronaut

Fall 2022
Duval Johnson ('14, '18), Mechanical Engineer and Tribologist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Max Espinoza, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Spring 2022
Teenie Matlock, UC Merced Vice Provost for the Academic Personnel, McClatchy Chair in Communications and Professor of Cognitive Science
Fred Ruiz, UC Regent Emeritus & Co-founder of Ruiz Food Products, Inc.
Cecilia V. Estolano, UC Regent Emerita & CEO & Founder of Estolano Advisors

2021
Dr. Carrie L. Byington, Executive Vice President, UC Health

2020
Xavier Becerra, Attorney General of California

2019
Dorothy Leland, Chancellor

2018
Maria Cardona, CNN
Lenny Mendonca, Senior Partner Emeritus, McKinsey & Co.

2017
Lesley Slaton Brown, Chief Global Diversity Officer, HP, Inc. (E-NS)
Héctor Tobar, Author (SSHA)

2016
Diosdado P. Banatao, Partner, Tallwood Venture Capital (E-NS)
Michael P. Huerta, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration (SSHA)

2015
Richard A. Tapia, University Professor, Rice University (E-NS)
Cora B. Marrett, Former Deputy Director and Acting Director, National Science Foundation (SSHA)

2014
Kristina M. Johnson, CEO, Enduring Hydra, LLC (E-NS)
Paul C. Lo, Judge, Merced County Superior Court (SSHA)

2013
José M. Hernandez, Former NASA Astronaut (E-NS)
David Mas Masumoto, Author (SSHA)

2012
Hon. Cruz Bustamante, California Lieutenant Governor (Ret.)

2011
Lloyd Dean, CEO, Dignity Health

2010
Lester Holt, NBC news anchor

2009
First Lady Michelle Obama

2008
Ruben Navarrette Jr., nationally syndicated columnist

2007
Hon. John Garamendi, Congressman and California Lieutenant Governor (Ret.)

2006
No keynote speaker