Media Advisory: Catherine Lhamon to Deliver UCI Law 2022 Commencement Address

IRVINE, Calif. (April 25, 2022) — Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, will deliver the keynote address for UCI Law’s 2022 commencement ceremony Saturday, May 7.  The ceremony will be held at the UCI Bren Events Center. Featured speakers include UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI Law Interim Dean Bryant Garth, faculty speaker Henry Weinstein, and student speakers Connor Jess Jordan (Graduate Tax Program ’22), Merve Kaner (Global LL.M. ‘22) and Sydney Leigh Martin (J.D. ’22).

WHAT: UCI Law will celebrate its 11^th commencement, in which 193 students are expected to participate. The outstanding students in UCI Law’s class of 2022 personify the Law School’s commitment to public service:

• The class of 2022 participated in more than 10,000 hours of pro bono work during their three years of law school.
• Nearly one-third of the class will be graduating with Pro Bono High Honors — five students graduating with over 300 hours of pro bono and one student graduating with over 620 pro bono hours.

WHO: Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of education, will deliver the keynote address.

Catherine Lhamon recently served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council for Racial Justice and Equity, where she managed the President's equity policy portfolio. Until January 2021, she chaired the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, to which President Obama appointed her in 2016, and served as Legal Affairs Secretary to California Governor Gavin Newsom. Before then, Lhamon was Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, to which President Obama nominated her and the Senate confirmed her in 2013.

“We are thrilled to be able to gather our wonderful community together for an in-person commencement ceremony, and celebrate our outstanding students and their tremendous accomplishments,” said Bryant Garth, UCI Law Interim Dean. “Additionally, I am delighted to welcome Catherine Lhamon, a civil rights advocate, to deliver our commencement address.”

WHEN: UCI Law Commencement is Saturday, May 7, 2022, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the UCI Bren Events Center.

For more information about UCI Law’s 2022 commencement, visit here.

About the University of California, Irvine School of Law

The University of California, Irvine School of Law is a visionary law school that provides an innovative and comprehensive curriculum, prioritizes public service, and demonstrates a commitment to diversity within the legal profession. UCI Law students have completed more than 130,000 hours of pro bono work since 2009. Forty-seven percent of UCI Law’s J.D. graduates are people of color. At UCI Law, we are driven to improve our local, national, and global communities by grappling with important issues as scholars, as practitioners, and as teachers who are preparing the next generation of leaders. The collaborative and interdisciplinary community at UCI Law includes extraordinary students, world-renowned faculty, dedicated staff, engaged alumni and enthusiastic supporters. More information on UCI Law is available here. Please follow us on Twitter @UCILaw and Facebook @UCIrvineLaw.