Congratulations, Graduates of 2012

College of Arts and Sciences

Commencement: May 6
Degree awarded: BA
Number of graduates: 433
Guest speaker: Martin Seligman, Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology and director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2000, Seligman’s main mission has been to promote positive psychology, a field that includes the study of positive emotions, positive character traits, and positive institutions.
Sound bite: “Three pieces of advice for the class of 2012: First, hunt the good stuff in life; spend your time finding out what’s right in your life and what’s right in the world. Second, live around your strengths, not around your weaknesses. Third, live life optimistically.”
For videos, click here.

School of Law

Commencement: May 19
Degrees awarded: JD; LLM in Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Number of graduates: 217
Guest speaker: Neal Katyal, a partner in the global law firm Hogan Lovells, is a former acting solicitor general of the United States. An expert in matters of constitutional law—particularly the role of the president and Congress in time of war and theories of constitutional interpretation—Katyal uses his theoretical work as the platform for practical consequences in the federal courts.
Sound bite: “The greatest opportunities come from the greatest challenges. I think this is a great time, a most exciting time, to start your careers. There are no doubt many challenges today. But I can’t wait to see what you will do with the opportunities that await you tomorrow. Create those opportunities by being true to yourself, by being passionate, and by being devoted [to family and friends].”

Graduate School of Education and Counseling

Commencement: June 3
Degrees awarded: Ed.D., Ed.S. in Advanced Leadership, Ed.S. in School Psychology, MEd, MAT, and master’s degrees in addiction studies; community counseling; marriage, couple, and family therapy; and psychological and cultural studies.
Number of graduates: 304
Guest speaker: Michelle Fine, a prominent feminist scholar and a professor in the Social/Personality Psychology Program at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. Her research program surrounds questions of community development with a particular emphasis on urban youth and young adults.
Sound bite: “If W.E.B. DuBois and Naomi Klein had a baby, it would be our current historic moment, when the perverse braiding of poor people’s pain with corporate profit has become an American pastime, inscribed in federal, state, and local policy.”