Big Turnout Expected for Commencement
More than 3,000 graduates and about 30,000 people are expected to be in attendance as Cal State San Marcos holds its first full-capacity commencement in three years.
A total of 4,406 students will graduate as part of the Class of 2022, with more than three-quarters of them having registered to attend one of the on-campus ceremonies. CSUSM’s commencement will take place on Friday, May 20 and Saturday, May 21 at Mangrum Track and Field, with six different ceremonies stretched across the two days.
CSUSM will host commencement without public health restrictions after the 2020 ceremony was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s event featured numerous restrictions, including social distancing and a facemask requirement. Each graduate could register up to 8 guests in advance. Nearly 30,000 guests are expected among the six ceremonies.
In the Class of 2022, 58% of the graduates are the first in their families to earn a bachelor’s degree, and 34% are the first to attend college. More than 45% come from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, and 57% are non-white. The ages of the graduates range from 19 to 69.
Each of the commencement ceremonies will be streamed live on the CSUSM website and mobile app to allow viewing by family members and friends who can’t attend.
CSUSM will award two honorary degrees during commencement:
- Juanita Page Cooke will receive a Doctor of Science degree during the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics ceremony on May 20 at 9 a.m.
- Carol Lazier will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree in the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences ceremony on May 20 at 6 p.m.
Cooke, who died last year at 89, was part of the team of National Institutes of Health researchers, led by Christian B. Anfinsen, who conducted groundbreaking and seminal research on protein folding in the 1950s and ’60s. Anfinsen went on to win the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the findings. Cooke contributed significantly to Anfinsen’s work while in his lab at NIH and was a co-author on two of the publications cited in his Nobel Prize acceptance lecture.
Lazier, a Poway resident, is the co-founder of Explore Solutions, a 501c3 that has provided comprehensive college and career information to high school students since 2006. She is also a philanthropist who has received national recognition for her giving and supports CSUSM programs like ACE Scholars Services and the School of Arts.
More information on CSUSM’s commencement ceremonies is available online.
What: CSUSM hosts commencement for the Class of 2022
Who: More than 3,000 students are expected to participate in the ceremonies
When:
Friday, May 20
9 a.m. – College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
1:30 p.m. – College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences
6 p.m. – College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences
Saturday, May 21
9 a.m. – College of Business Administration
1:30 p.m. – College of Education, Health and Human Services
6 p.m. – College of Education, Health and Human Services
Where: Mangrum Track and Field, Cal State San Marcos, 333 South Twin Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos
Media: Members of the media who wish to attend any of the commencement ceremonies are asked to contact communications specialist Brian Hiro in advance at bhiro@csusm.edu or 760-759-0564.
For easy access to the ceremony site, media are asked to park in Lot Z, which is located at South Twin Oaks Valley Road and Campus Marketplace.