Guest Speakers and Honorary Doctorate Recipients
The following alumni and friends of the university will be part of this year’s commencement celebrations, serving as guest speakers at each ceremony. All messages and Honorary Doctorate addresses will be added to the site after the ceremonies.
Honorary Doctorate Recipients
Violet Palmer
NBA Referee (1st Female Referee in the NBA, Retired 2016)
Coordinator of Women's Basketball Officials
Pac-12 Conference West Coast Conference
Western Athletic Conference
Big Sky Conference
Guest Speaker and Honorary Doctorate Recipient for the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences
*Cal Poly Pomona alumna ('88, recreation administration)
Larry Gates
Co-Founder DRC Engineering, Inc.
Guest Speaker and Honorary Doctorate Recipient for the College of Engineering
*Cal Poly Pomona alumnus ('87, civil engineering)
Guest Speakers
A.G. Kawamura
Founding LLC Member of Orange County Produce
Former Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, 2003-2010
Guest speaker for the Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture
Gregg Patterson
Founder and President "Tribal Magic!!!"
Guest speaker for the Collins College of Hospitality Management
Mia Lehrer, FASLA
President, Studio-MLA
Guest speaker for the College of Environmental Design
Pamela Maynard
CEO, Avenade
Guest speaker for the College of Business Administration
Sep Eskandari, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Montana State University Billings
Guest speaker for the College of Science
*Cal Poly Pomona alumnus ('93, chemistry, '95, masters in biology)
Sue Johnson
Superintendent, Savanna School District
Guest speaker for the College of Education and Integrative Studies
*Cal Poly Pomona alumna ('79, liberal studies)