Claremont, Calif. (April 20, 2012) — Pitzer College’s forty-eighth Commencement Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2012, at the Stephen L. Glass Commencement Plaza.
Noted author, activist and educator Angela Davis was chosen by the class of 2012 to serve as the keynote speaker for this year’s event. Davis is a Distinguished Professor Emerita of history of consciousness and feminist studies at the University of California Santa Cruz. She has taught at many colleges and universities, including Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA and briefly at The Claremont Colleges in the ’70s. Davis is the author of several books, including the forthcoming The Meaning of Freedom and Are Prisons Obsolete (2003). She has lectured on race, gender and incarceration throughout the US as well as in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and South America.
Marshall Anderson ’12 will serve as the senior class speaker. Following tradition, Anderson was chosen by a student selection committee. Anderson is from San Diego, CA and is an American studies major.
The graduating class also selects a member of the staff or administration to be its honored guest and a member of the faculty to be its student marshal. This year, Moya Carter, dean of students, will serve as the honored guest. Tessa Hicks Peterson, assistant vice president of community engagement and assistant professor of urban studies, was selected as the student marshal. Daniel A. Segal, the Jean M. Pitzer Professor of Anthropology and professor of history, will be the faculty marshal.
Jose Barriga ’12 and Natalya Ratan ’12 will present the senior gift and Gilbert V. Gonzales ’03, president of the Alumni Board, will give the alumni greeting. Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Alan Jones will make the presentation of graduating class. President Laura Skandera Trombley will give the opening remarks and join Robin M. Kramer ’75, the chair of the Board of Trustees, and Registrar Eva Peters in presenting the diplomas to the Class of 2012.
