Ceremonies for graduating students — and the procedures and traditions that surround them — have changed dramatically over time and across countries. The Cal Bears of 1864 never could have imagined that the 2020 Commencement would take place in a video game! Enjoy this history of Commencement at Berkeley.
Historical Milestones
- 1864 — The first graduates of the College of California, predecessor of the University of California, received their degrees at a Commencement held in June 1864 at the Presbyterian Church in Oakland. Highlights included an address by California Senator Newton Booth and the reading of Daphne, a poem composed for the occasion by Bret Harte.
- 1873 — On July 16, 1873, campuswide Commencement ceremonies began in Berkeley. The exercises were held in the large hall of North College and, again, Newton Booth (now governor) gave an address.
- 1943–46 — During a portion of World War II, 1943–46, the university maintained an accelerated program of three terms yearly. Exercises held at the end of each term were known as “graduation convocations.”
- 1970 and 1990 — Due to ongoing campus unrest, the Class of 1970 had no campuswide commencement ceremony. Two decades later, in 1990, more than 200 fortysomething graduates donned black caps and gowns prior to a Cal-UCLA football game for a much delayed and deserved ceremony.
- 1970 — As a result of the suspension of campuswide commencement, departments began holding their own graduation ceremonies in 1970, a practice that continues to this day.
- 1970 — A list in the University Archives includes a total of 39 ceremonies, including a Chicano Independent Commencement that took place on June 16, 1970 — likely the beginning of affinity group graduations as well.
- 1991 — Campuswide ceremonies were restored in 1991 with a “senior celebration” — for graduating students only — at Zellerbach Hall, followed by a reception.
- 1992–3 — No ceremonies were held in 1992, but they returned in 1993 with a commencement convocation in Zellerbach Hall similar in format to the campuswide exercises we see today. Jerry Brown ’61 (then between his second term as governor and first as mayor of Oakland) gave the keynote address.
- 1972 and 2009 — The University of California, Berkeley stopped conferring honorary degrees on commencement speakers — and everyone else — in 1972. There has been only one exception to that rule since: in 2009, the campus honored 42 former Cal students of Japanese descent. They received the degrees they had been working toward nearly seven decades before, when Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during World War II.
- 2001 — Recognizing that the campus did not offer a celebration for December graduates, the Alumni Scholars Club created the December Graduates Reception. In 2001, with support from the Cal Alumni Association, Chancellor’s Office, and University Development and Alumni Relations, the Californians evolved this event into what is now called Winter Commencement.
- 2020–2022 — The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the Commencements for the classes that graduated during this time, and the campus had to reinvent the ceremony each semester according to what was feasible at that moment. The Class of 2020, for example, attended a virtual mock ceremony at Blockeley University, a fantastical recreation of the campus built by students and alums using Minecraft. The Class of 2021 participated in a five-day, in-person procession at the Greek Theatre for graduates only in which they were masked, distanced, and walked across the stage one at a time to receive a symbolic diploma and have their pictures taken. The classes of 2020-2021 celebrated graduation through official virtual ceremonies, showcasing UC Berkeley’s adaptability and innovation during the pandemic.
| 1864 | Newton Booth, California State Senator |
| 1865 | Rev. Henry Durant, Professor of Latin and Greek Languages |
| 1866 |
Rev. Henry Durant, Professor of Latin and Greek Languages Rev. Horatio Stebbins, Pastor, First Unitarian Church, San Francisco |
| 1867 | Benjamin Silliman, Professor of Chemistry, Yale University |
| 1868 | Rev. Joseph A. Benton, Pastor, Second Congregational Church, San Francisco |
| 1869 | Rev. Eli Corwin |
| 1870 | John LeConte, Acting President, University of California |
| 1871 | Henry H. Haight, Governor of California |
| 1872 | Rev. W.A. Scott, Pastor, Calvary Presbyterian Church |
| 1873–74 | Daniel C. Gilman, President, University of California |
| 1875–79 | John LeConte, President, University of California |
| 1880 |
John LeConte, President, University of California Joseph W. Winans, Regent, University of California |
| 1881 |
John LeConte, President, University of California Bishop E.O. Haven, former President, University of Michigan |
| 1882 | Rev. Charles D. Barrows, Pastor, First Congressional Church, San Francisco |
| 1883 | Arthur Rodgers ’74, Regent, University of California |
| 1884 | C.C. Stratton, President, University of the Pacific |
| 1885 | Rev. Robert Mackenzie, Pastor, Howard Presbyterian Church, San Francisco |
| 1886 | Edward S. Holden, President, University of California |
| 1887 | John F. Swift, Regent, the University of California |
| 1888 | Joseph Le Conte, Professor of Geology and Natural History |
| 1889 |
Thomas F. Barry ’74 Horace Davis, President, University of California |
| 1890 | Rev. A.C. Hirst, President, University of California |
| 1891 | Rev. William F. Nichols, Bishop, Episcopal Church in California |
| 1892 | Martin Kellogg, Acting President, University of California |
| 1893 | Martin Kellogg, President, University of California |
| 1894 | James H. Baker, President, University of Colorado |
| 1895–97 | Martin Kellogg, President, University of California |
| 1898 | Edmund J. James, Professor of Public Administration |
| 1899 | Martin Kellogg, President, University of California |
| 1900 | Benjamin Ide Wheeler, President, University of California |
| 1901 |
John Jay, Secretary of State of the United States (President William McKinley, who was scheduled to speak at the graduation, was unable to attend due to the sudden, critical illness of his wife.) |
| 1902 | Benjamin Ide Wheeler, President, University of California |
| 1903 | Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States |
| 1904–19 | Benjamin Ide Wheeler, President, University of California |
| 1920–23 | David Prescott Barrows, President, University of California |
| 1924–30 | William Wallace Campbell, President, University of California |
| 1931–32 | Robert Gordon Sproul, President, University of California |
| 1933 |
Charles B. Lipman, Dean of the Graduate Division Robert Gordon Sproul, President, University of California |
| 1934 |
Monroe E. Deutsch, Vice President and Provost, University of California Robert Gordon Sproul, President, University of California |
| 1935 |
Sir Joseph Stamp, Director, London School of Economics Robert Gordon Sproul, President, University of California |
| 1936–44 | Robert Gordon Sproul, President, University of California |
| 1945 | Monroe E. Deutsch, Vice President and Provost, University of California |
| 1946–47 | Robert Gordon Sproul, President, University of California |
| 1948 | Harry S. Truman, President of the United States |
| 1949 | Robert Gordon Sproul, President, University of California |
| 1950 | Ralph J. Bunche, Director, Department of Trusteeship, United Nations |
| 1951–58 | Robert Gordon Sproul, President, University of California |
| 1959–61 | Clark Kerr, President, University of California |
| 1962 | Edward W. Strong, Chancellor |
| 1963 | Robert Gordon Sproul, President Emeritus, University of California |
| 1964 | Donald H. McLaughlin ’14, Regent, University of California |
| 1965–66 | Clark Kerr, President, University of California |
| 1967 | Harry R. Wellman, Acting President, University of California |
| 1968 | Charles J. Hitch, President, University of California |
| 1969 | John W. Oswald, Executive Vice President, University of California |
| 1970–90 | No campuswide ceremony (See historical milestones, above.) |
| 1991 | Leon Litwack ’51, MA ’52, Pulitzer Prize Winner, Professor of History and Distinguished Teaching Award Winner |
| 1992 | No campuswide ceremony (See historical milestones, above.) |
| 1993 | The Honorable Edmund G. Brown, Jr. ’61, Governor |
| 1994 | Oliver Stone, Screenwriter, Director, Producer |
| 1995 | Robert Reich, United States Secretary of Labor |
| 1996 | Pedro Noguera, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Social and Cultural Studies, Graduate School of Education |
| 1997 | Bill Cosby, Comedian, Actor |
| 1998 | Steve Wozniak ’86, Cofounder, Apple Computers |
| 1999 | Terry McMillan ’79, Author |
| 2000 | Madeline Albright, United States Secretary of State |
| Spring 2001 | Janet Reno, former United States Attorney General |
| Winter 2001 | Peter Chernin ’73, Chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group |
| Spring 2002 | Johnny Moseley, Olympic Gold Medalist |
| Winter 2002 | Lieutenant Colonel Rex J. Walheim ’84, NASA Astronaut |
| Spring 2003 | Leon Panetta, former White House Chief of Staff, United States Congressman from California |
| Winter 2003 | George A. Akerlof, Winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and Professor of Economics |
| Spring 2004 | Ted Koppel, ABC News Anchor |
| Winter 2004 | The Honorable Edmund G. Brown, Jr. ’61, Mayor of the City of Oakland and Former Governor of California |
| Spring 2005 | Benjamin Barber, Political Theorist |
| Winter 2005 | John Cho ’96, Actor |
| Spring 2006 | Robert Birgeneau, Chancellor |
| Winter 2006 | Wayne Lee ’90, Chief Engineer, Mars Exploration Rover Landing System |
| Spring 2007 | Robert Birgeneau, Chancellor |
| Winter 2007 | Jody Lewen Ph.D. ’02, Director of the Patten University Extension Site at San Quentin State Prison |
| Spring 2008 | Craig Newmark, Founder, Craigslist |
| Winter 2008 | Mimi Silbert M.A. ’65, D.Crim. ’68, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Delancey Street Foundation |
| Spring 2009 | Christopher Gardner, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist |
| Winter 2009 | The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta ’53, Vice Chairman, Hill & Knowlton, Inc. and Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation |
| Spring 2010 | Tiffany Shlain ’92, Founder, Webby Awards |
| Winter 2010 | Joseph Letteri ’81, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Weta Digital |
| Spring 2011 | Paul Jacobs MS ’79, PhD ’82, CEO, Qualcomm |
| Winter 2011 | John Scharffenberger ’73, Founder, Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker and Scharffenberger Cellars and CEO, Hodo Soy Beanery |
| Spring 2012 | Eric Schmidt M.S. ’79, Ph.D. ’82, Executive Chairman, Google |
| Winter 2012 | Maz Jobrani ’93, Comedian |
| Spring 2013 | Steve Wozniak ’86, Co-Founder, Apple Inc. and Chief Scientist, Fusion-io |
| Winter 2013 | Dr. Randy Schekman, Winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology |
| Spring 2014 | Nancy Pelosi, United States Congresswoman from California |
| Winter 2014 | Bill Maher, Host of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” and Author |
| Spring 2015 | Marc Benioff, CEO, Salesforce |
| Winter 2015 | Robert B. Reich, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy, Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy |
| Spring 2016 | Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook and Founder, Leanin.org |
| Winter 2016 | Dana Vollmer ’10, Olympic Gold Medalist |
| Spring 2017 | Maz Jobrani ’93, Comedian |
| Winter 2017 | Carol T. Christ, Chancellor |
| Spring 2018 | Carol T. Christ, Chancellor |
| Winter 2018 | Nathan Adrian ’12, Olympic Gold Medalist |
| Spring 2019 | Wendy Kopp, Founder, Teach for All |
| Winter 2019 | Bob Haas ’64, Chairman Emeritus, Levi Strauss & Company |
| Spring 2020 | Carol T. Christ, Chancellor |
| Winter 2020 | Congresswoman Barbara Lee M.S.W. ’75 |
| Spring 2021 | Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo ’04, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury |
| Winter 2021 | Carol T. Christ, Chancellor |
| Spring 2022 | Dr. Randy Schekman, Winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology |
| Winter 2022 | Poulomi Saha, Associate Professor of English |
| Spring 2023 | Steve Wozniak ’86, Co-Founder, Apple Inc. |
| Winter 2023 | Dr. Jennifer A. Doudna, Winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair and a Professor of Chemistry and of Molecular and Cell Biology |
| Spring 2024 | Cynt Marshall ’81, Chief Executive Officer, Dallas Mavericks |
| Winter 2024 | Richard K. Lyons ’82, Chancellor |