Commencement Ceremony 2024

The Commencement ceremony will be held in the Hearst Greek Theatre. Tickets are required but seating for the ceremony is general admission. Please remember to tell your guests that the Greek Theatre is an outdoor amphitheater and to plan appropriately.

All graduates and guests entering the Greek Theatre will be required to walk through metal detectors. Please ensure that guests arrive early enough to allow for this security step. While the stadium has numerous metal detectors at the entrance, and the security staff will ensure the process is as speedy as possible, guests should allocate additional time to enter the theater. The Processional will start promptly at 2PM.

Graduates need to arrive at 12:45PM at the South end (entrance closer to Haas/Memorial Stadium) and head to the backstage area dressed in your cap and gown. All graduates are required to go through metal detectors before they go backstage. In order to expedite this process please bring as little as possible with you and have your pockets empty. Only graduates in regalia will be admitted backstage. Proceed to the EWMBA table and pick up a name card. You will write your name on this card as you want it to be announced when you walk across the stage. This card also serves as a record for the photographer, and you’ll list your name and email on the back. The map below will reflect the entrances for the 2024 Commencement.

There is no special seating order for the MBA graduates. You will be in a single file line when you go out of the gate, so be sure to stand either in front of or behind the person you wish to sit with. At 2PM, Pomp and Circumstance will begin and the MBA graduates will march out into the seating areas. Each degree program will recognize several award winners and each will have a student speaker. Evening & Weekend MBA graduates will walk across the stage, have their name read, receive a scroll, shake hands with Dean Ann Harrison and have their picture taken before proceeding back to the seating area. To facilitate the ceremony, only the 650+ graduates will be allowed to cross the stage. There will be opportunities for photos with your loved ones outside the Greek. Evening & Weekend MBA Students will be acknowledged first, followed by the Full-Time MBA Students . We ask that all students stay for the entire ceremony. Evening & Weekend MBA Students will be acknowledged first, followed by the Full Time MBA Students. All graduates will stay for the entire ceremony, which ends at approximately 4PM.

Restrooms are located at both ends of the amphitheater. A wheelchair-accessible restroom is located inside the North entrance.

Event Program: 

• Welcome & Commencement Address
• Evening & Weekend MBA Student Awards & Student Speaker
• Evening & Weekend MBA Conferring of Degrees
• Full Time MBA Student Awards & Student Speaker
• Full Time MBA Conferring of Degrees
• Closing Message

Please note that security will be checking bags at the entrance to the Greek Theatre. Guests can bring small or medium sized bags, but please note that the following items are not allowed in the Greek Theatre:

• Large bags or backpacks
• Glass bottles or aluminum cans
• Alcoholic beverages
• Tobacco products
• Animals (except for documented service animals)
• Lawn furniture (low-backed stadium seats are permitted)
• Noisemakers/Airhorns/Musical Instruments
• Umbrellas (small umbrellas for sun/rain protection are permitted)
• Balloons (may be tied up and left at entrance)
• Tripods for cameras
• Coolers/Ice Chests
• Signs/Banners/Flags
• Rolls of toilet paper
• Confetti/Glitter
• Streamers
• Strollers (designated stroller parking is available)
• Any item that can be perceived as a weapon

Strollers

Please note that strollers are not allowed in the Greek Theatre, but there will be stroller parking at the entrance to the theatre.

This year’s Commencement speaker is Monica Stevens, MBA 96. Monica is a member of Spencer Stuart’s Financial Services and Boards practices, as well as a member of the Haas School Board, and she was awarded the school’s Raymond A. Miles Service Award in 2017 for her contributions in supporting and enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. She was also previously a trustee for the Redwood Day School in Oakland, where she led the Diversity Committee.

As a member of Spencer Stuart’s Financial Services and Boards practices, Stevens focuses on executive search, leadership advisory, and succession planning work for C-suites and boards across corporate and commercial banking, payments, real estate, and risk. A seasoned banker and nonprofit board member with more than 25 years of experience in general management, customer relationship development, talent acquisition, and learning and professional development, Stevens is a champion of diversity and inclusion in business and in her community.

Before joining Spencer Stuart, Stevens spent more than two decades at Wells Fargo, where she held multiple sales, credit,  and leadership roles in commercial real estate, capital markets, and global banking. Most recently, she was senior vice president and chief credit and risk officer in the company’s Merchant Services division.

At Wells Fargo, she co-founded the company’s first Black/African American employee resource group, and more recently, she served as co-chair of the Wells Fargo Merchant Services group’s Diversity Council. A champion of talent development, she ran, repositioned, and doubled the size of a program that recruited talent at various levels of the firm.

A veteran, Stevens is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. She started her career as an officer in the U.S. Navy,  before eventually coming to Haas, where she received an MBA with a concentration in real estate finance.

This years Student Speaker is Katherine Zepeda Arreola! Originating from a small rural town in Jalisco, Mexico, Katherine immigrated to the US with her family when she was seven years old. After graduating from UC Berkeley with a major in Social Welfare, Katherine joined Beyond 12, an education technology company, where she led multiple roles, most recently as the Chief of Staff to the CEO. At Berkeley Haas, she was featured in the Berkeley MBA Blog, served as a VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a Student Advisory Board Member with the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership, and as a panelist, guest speaker, and presenter at Admissions events, student speaker series, and the annual Berkeley Haas Diversity Symposium. This summer, Katherine will begin a new and exciting opportunity at Apple.

The commencement ceremony will be live-streamed and online translation will be available for those attending. The stream for the Commencement will be broadcast via YouTube. The ceremony will also be recorded and available to watch a few days later using the same link.

Tickets will be required for entry for all guests attending the ceremony (including children and infants). Graduates in caps and gowns will not require a ticket. Tickets MUST be requested in advance.

Tickets are now available for pickup during our Business Hours. If you or a trusted classmate are attending WE Lead, tickets will also be available for pickup at Breakfast during WE Lead.

There are four items that you need for Commencement: a cap, gown, MBA hood* and tassel. They are available for purchase or rental as a package called the Master Gown Package. Select or indicate “Business Administration as your Program/Major during check out.

* Please note: “Drab” or light brown is the standard hood color for the MBA degree. Samples will be available in the EWMBA Program Office if you want to see the items.

There are two ways to purchase these items:

• Online: You can order your Master Gown Package from two stores close to campus and have the items shipped to you, or you can pick them up in the store:
  • The (official) Cal Student Store. Be sure to also add a Master Hood in the MBA “drab” color, found on their website in the My Grad section
  • The Student Store (Fall Rush)
  • Please note: You will need to provide your height, degree and department in the special instruction field on the review and order page.
  • If you would like to RENT your regalia, please use the link to the Rental Gown here. Please note that if you are renting your regalia, hoods are still sold separately
  • Rental Gowns are DUE FOR RETURN to the CAL Student Store on Thursday, May 30, 2024
• In-person: You can purchase and pick up your regalia in one visit to the Graduation Department of Cal Student Store (2495 Bancroft Way in the Student Union) or The Student Store (2470 Bancroft between Telegraph and Dana) . We recommend that you visit the store during off-peak hours, such as early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid long lines. Please allow at least 1/2 hour to order and pick-up your regalia. Check the websites for updated hours.

Please be careful with your tassel to ensure that you don’t lose it.  They do not hook onto the cap very well, so we recommend waiting until you arrive at the Greek to put on your tassel.  We will have tape available at the check-in table to help with this as well.

Haas has pledged to host a more environmentally conscious graduation ceremony by eliminating plastic water bottles, endorsing the use of reusable graduation gowns, and halving the printing of promotional materials.

You can donate your gown and hood to the Class of 2024. Look for bins at the exits of the Greek Theatre as well as in front of the MBA Admissions reception area (S430) to donate your gown and hood.

The lottery for used regalia has taken place. Recipients of the regalia have been notified by the Program Office, and regalia is now available for pickup during our Business Hours.

During Commencements, parking is very limited at UC Berkeley. Public parking will be available at attendant-controlled lots. PARKING IS CREDIT CARD ONLY– NO CASH WILL BE ACCEPTED. Visa, MC, Discover, and AmEx all okay. MOBILE PAYMENT (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.) WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Drivers must purchase a permit from the attendant to be displayed on the dashboard. The following lots will be available:

• Foothill Lot
• Lower Hearst Structure
• non-UC Lot (Stadium Garage)
• $11 flat rate. Debit or credit card only. No cash. (Foothill Lot, Upper Hearst Structure, Lower Hearst Structure)

Stadium Garage = $17 for 2 hours or longer

Parking for Department Graduations is only available on a first-come, first-serve basis the day of the ceremony. Graduating students and their guests may use the free Bear Transit campus shuttles to travel from the lot to the Hearst Greek Theatre.

DISABLED PARKING

All designated Disabled spaces and non-reserved spaces will be available at the above lots & rates to disabled patrons with certified handicapped placards or license plates on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no designated parking lot or special rates for Disabled Placard holders. Patrons needing assistance may be dropped off at the North Gate while their family member parks. There will be a few folding chairs for people to sit in while they wait to get seated by the ushers.

If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) or information about campus mobility access features in order to fully participate in this event, please contact Luisa Guzman Gomez with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7 days in advance of the event.

ADA DROPOFF

Guests needing accessible seating assistance should enter the Greek Theatre from the North entrance and ask an usher or staff member to escort them to the ADA seating area.

If needed, patrons may be dropped off at the North entrance while their family member parks. A wheelchair is available in the Greek Theatre for medical emergencies only and are not guaranteed to be available to transport guests with special needs to their seats. We highly recommend that guests who are not able to walk long distances and/or on inclines bring a wheelchair with them.

Please note that although the Greek Theatre is a wheelchair-accessible venue, it is large and steep and we recommend that guests needing extra assistance have an escort.

Wheelchair and seating for guests with special needs (few or no stairs) is available in the Greek Theatre at all entrances. When your guest enters the Greek Theatre, they should ask an usher or staff member to escort them to the special seating area. One wheelchair is available in the Greek Theatre to transport guests with special needs to their seats. Due to space constraints, Cal Performances can only guarantee seating for one companion for each guest in the special seating area. Please note that although the Greek Theatre is a wheelchair accessible venue, it is large and steep and we recommend that guests needing extra assistance have an escort.

ADA SEATING

Wheelchair and seating for guests with special needs (few or no stairs) is available in the Greek Theatre at the North entrance. When your guest enters the Greek Theatre, they should ask an usher or staff member to escort them to the special seating area.

A wheelchair is available in the Greek Theatre for medical emergencies only and are not guaranteed to be available to transport guests with special needs to their seats. We highly recommend that guests who are not able to walk long distances and/or on inclines bring a wheelchair with them. Due to space constraints, Cal Performances can only guarantee seating for one companion for each guest in the special seating area. Please note that although the Greek Theatre is a wheelchair accessible venue, it is large and steep and we recommend that guests needing extra assistance have an escort.

If you have a guest with ADA needs, please notify the EWMBA Program Office ([email protected]) with the name of your guest and their accessibility needs so we can notify the Greek Theatre ahead of time

ADA PARKING

All designated Disabled spaces and non-reserved spaces will be available at the above lots & rates to disabled patrons with certified handicapped placards or license plates on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no designated parking lot or special rates for Disabled Placard holders. Patrons needing assistance may be dropped off at the North Gate while their family member parks. There will be a few folding chairs for people to sit in while they wait for their family member to park and then escort them into the venue. See the Parking FAQ above for more information about the location of parking lots. There is no designated parking lot or special rates for Disabled Placard holders.

Accessible seating cannot be reserved, but anyone who needs ADA seating will get it. Please follow the directions in the question above to find accessible parking and seating. Greek Theater staff will assist you and your guests to the appropriate seat day of. Please call the box office at 323-606-8106 for further information.

Due to space constraints, Cal Performances can only guarantee seating for one companion for each guest in the ADA seating area.

Other family members may sit in general seating.

A link for captioning will be shared closer to the date for any persons attending who need captioning.

Graduating students may request a visa support letter for family members traveling internationally to attend graduation. Once a request is submitted, our office will email you the letter within 10 business days.