The 2019 commencement season is underway, but we’d like to ask you — faculty, students and staff — to take a few moments to think about the university’s undergraduate commencements in the spring of 2020 and the speakers you would like to hear at those ceremonies.

A year from now, as previously announced, UC Davis will consolidate seven undergraduate commencement ceremonies into three. These larger events will be “UC Davis” commencements — not individual college commencements — to put more emphasis on our institution as a whole, as one of the leading public universities in the nation.

In addition, larger ceremonies present the opportunity to bring in national speakers — and that is where you come in: The chancellor and his advisors are asking for suggestions for speakers for next year’s undergraduate commencements. Please submit your suggestions by email.

The sooner you submit, the better. The organizing committee needs time to consider the suggestions and make recommendations to Chancellor Gary S. May, who then needs time to consider whom to invite — with an eye toward sending out invitations this summer.

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