To Thee we sing dear old CalArts; we praise the Black and Blue. Thou alabaster labyrinth, we pledge we shall be true, be true.
And so, dear fortress on the hill, our hearts before you lay –
P-R-A-I-S-E T-O C.I.A.
F Welcome to Calarts Graduation 2026 H
The ceremony will last approximately three and a half hours, and will be followed by an indoor reception in the Main Gallery.
Refreshments are also available in Steve's Cafe.
Pre-Ceremony
3 - 6 PM
Q Main Entrance, outside of The Sharon Disney Lund Dance Theater R
- Lei and flower vendor
- CalArts store pop-up at the ExBox
Q Tatum Lounge R
- Coffee and snacks available for purchase
4 - 5:30 PM
Q Main Entrance R
- CalArts Balinese Gamelan Ensemble, directed by Nyoman Wenten (Faculty, Music); Balinese Dance directed by Nanik Wenten (Faculty, Music)
Q Main Gallery R
- President's Reception for Family and Friends
(Hors d'oeuvres, water, iced tea, beer, and wine available in the Main Gallery)
African Music and Dance Ensemble, directed by Andrew Grueschow (Faculty, Music)
Ravi Rajan, President
Michael Bryant, Provost
Kiara Brown, Chief of Staff
Jieho Lee, Senior Vice President for Administration and Operations
Allan Chen, Vice President for Information Technology
Anthony Garrison-Engbrecht, Vice President for Student Affairs
Eva Graham, Institute Diversity Officer
Irene Scholl-Tatevosyan, General Counsel
João Ribas, Steven D. Lavine Executive Director of REDCAT
Kathleen Nicely, Senior Vice President for Advancement and External Relations
Lori Husein, Chief Financial Officer
Michael Elgarico, Vice President for Enrollment Management
Troy Allen, Vice President for Facilities Management
Ranu Mukherjee, Dean, School of Film/ Video
Andy Fontenot, School of Critical Studies
Rosanna Gamson, Dean, The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance
Marc Lowenstein, Dean, The Herb Alpert School of Music
Andrea LeBlanc, Dean, School of Theater
Steven Lam, Dean, School of Art
Lareese Hall, Dean, Library
Rachel Berger, Vice Provost
Bree Howard, Associate Provost, Academic Affairs, Planning and Operations
Welcome 6:15 PM
- Invocation from Tataviam Elder Dennis Garcia (Fernandeño Tataviam/Chumash)
CalArts sits on the unceded ancestral lands of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, who have been here for millennia and will forever call this place home.
Presentation of the Graduates
6:45 PM
Q School of Theater
Q School of Critical Studies
Q The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance
Q School of Film & Video
Q Herb Alpert School of Music
Q School of Art
Q Welcome Address R
Mike Bryant, Provost
Q Student Union Address R
Anushka Shah and Briana Newson, Student Union
President and Vice President
Q Honored Speaker R
Taylor Mac
Q Board Address R
Charmaine Jefferson, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Graduation Celebration Reception
9:45 PM - 11 PM
Q Main Gallery & Steves Cafe R
- African Music and Dance Ensemble, directed by Andrew Grueschow (Faculty, Music) and Yeko Ladzekpo-Cole (Faculty, Music)
(Light refreshments and dessert water, iced tea, beer, and wine available in the Main Gallery)
Q President's Address and Conferring of Degrees R
Ravi S. Rajan, President, Assisted by Chair of the CalArts Board Charmaine Jefferson
Tschool of critical studiesS
Presented by Dean Andrea Fontenot assisted by Andrew Culp, Program Director, Aesthetics and Politics; and Gabrielle Civil, Program Director, Creative Writing.
Tschool of theaterS
Presented by Dean Andrea LeBlanc; assisted by Ellen McCartney, Director Experience Design and Production; Shannon Scrofano, Associate Director, Experience Design and Production; Daniel Passer, Director of Performance; and Damian Lewis, Co-Head of BFA Acting.
Tschool of film/videoS
Presented by Dean Ranu Mukherjee; assisted by Lee Ann Schmitt, Program Director, Film Directing; Kangmin Kim, Program Director, Experimental Animation; and Maija Burnett, Program Director, Character Animation.
Tschool of artS
Tthe sharon disney lund school of danceS
Presented by Dean Rosanna Gamson, assisted by Brigette Dunn-Korpela, Assistant Dean; Cheryl Mann, Assiatant Dean; Julie Bour, MFA Program Director; and Rosanna Tavarez, BFA Program Director.
Tthe herb alpert school of musicS
Presented by Dean Marc Lowenstien assisted by Rob Wannamaker, Associate Dean; and Jacqui Bobak, Assistant Dean.
Presented by Dean Steven Lam; assisted by Michael Ned Holte, Associate Dean, Program in Art; Scott Zukowski, Program Director, Program in Graphic Design; Ashley Hunt, Program Director, Photography and Media; and Tom Leeser, Program Director, Art and Technology and Director of Integrated Media.
Honored Speaker
F Taylor Mac H
Taylor Mac is the first American to receive the International Ibsen Award, is a MacArthur Fellow, a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, a Tony nominee for Best Play, and the recipient of the Kennedy Prize (with Matt Ray), the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a Guggenheim, the Herb Alpert Award, a Drama League Award, the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award, the Booth, two Helpmann Awards, a NY Drama Critics Circle Award, two Obies, two Bessies, and an Ethyl Eichelberger. An alumnus of New Dramatists, judy is the author of Bark of Millions and The Hang (with composer Matt Ray); Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil The Musical; Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus; A 24- Decade History of Popular Music; Prosperous Fools; The Fre; Hir; The Walk Across America for Mother Earth; The Lily’s Revenge; The Young Ladies Of; Red Tide Blooming; The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac; and the revues Comparison is Violence; Holiday Sauce; and The Last Two People on Earth: an Apocalyptic Vaudeville (created with Mandy Patinkin and Susan Stroman).
Fschool ofH Theater
FbfaH FmfaH
Qschool ofR
Critical Studies
Fthe sharon disney lund school ofH
Dance
Fschool ofH / Film Video
Alyssa Anderson Emi Baumgardner
Berke Marissa Brennan
Canonizado
Chae
Chao
Chin
Cho Antoine Couttolenc Camacho
Deleo
Dorsey
Duggan Chun Kit Fong Pj Goff Eva Goldfinger Scalzo Demian Guzman
Congratulations on your commencement from all of us at the Office of Alumni Engagement. We are incredibly proud of you and the lasting impact you’ve made on the Institute. Your hard work and dedication have brought you to this important milestone, and today you join a remarkable global community of CalArts artists, problem solvers, and thought leaders shaping the world around us.
As you step into this next chapter, you will continue learning, growing, and hope staying connected with one another and the Institute. Wherever your journey takes you, may CalArts remain an enduring part of your story as you embark on your next great adventure.
Cheers to you!
Karolyn Heimes (Director, Alumni Engagement)
Scholarships
Scholarships at CalArts
On this special day, we salute our remarkable and talented graduates, and thank the many generous and forward-looking individuals, foundations, and corporations that have recognized the creative brilliance and the tremendous potential of our students. They help ensure our graduates’ future success by contributing to and, in many cases, endowing scholarships at CalArts. Approximately 400 graduating students received scholarships totaling close to $5.2 million.
All gifts and pledges for scholarships will help secure the future of our Institute and shape the futures of our students. Your support is a vote of confidence in our efforts to nurture, challenge, and transform the lives of students.
Thank you to the many members of the CalArts community who have already established the scholarships listed here and on the following page.
The JJ Adkisson Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund
Ahmanson Foundation Endowed Scholarship Fund
The CalArts Herb Alpert School of Music Endowment
Alumni Scholarship Fund
Animator Letters Project Scholarship
Anonymous CalArts Trustee Scholarship
Art Alumni Scholarship
R. John Bache Memorial Scholarship
Madame Julia Bal de Zuniga Memorial Scholarship
John Baldessari Scholarship
Baltimore School for the Arts Scholarship
The Remo and Ami Belli Scholarship
Tikam Berry Scholarship
Bing Fund, Inc. Scholarship
Jeremy Blake Memorial Scholarship
Betty and Morris Boltuch Memorial Scholarship
Irene Borger Endowed Scholarship for Creative Writing
Mark Borneman Memorial Scholarship
Shirley Burden Scholarship
Robert Cannon Memorial Scholarship Fund
Truman Capote Literary Fellowship
Irene Carter Oates Scholarship
Lily Chiao and James Chiao Scholarship
The Nelbert Chouinard Endowed Scholarship
Georgia and Les Clark Scholarship
Heidi Clarke Scholarship Fund
Pamela and Shannon Clyne Scholarship
Covey/Brooks Scholarship
The Coyne Family Foundation Scholarship
Marc and Alice Davis Memorial Scholarship
Roy O. Disney Scholarship Fund
Sharon Disney Lund Foundation Endowed Scholarships in Dance
Sharon Disney Lund Foundation Scholarships in Dance
Walt Disney Company Foundation Scholarship
Walt Disney Company Sharon Disney Lund Scholarship in Dance
The Jimmie and Ruth Dodd Scholarship Fund
Dean Drummond Scholarship in Composition
The Dumont Foundation Scholarship
Robert Egelston Endowed Scholarship Fund
Ralph Eggleston Scholarship
The Michael Eisner Scholarship Fund
Joan Ellis Fund in Photography
James Elrod Memorial Library Scholarship
Jules Engel Endowed Scholarship in Experimental Animation
The Beno Eston Memorial Scholarship
David and Marianna Fisher Scholarship
Betty Freeman Music Scholarship Fund
Charles Gaines Fellowship for MFA Art Students Endowment Fund
The Mercedes and Gabriel Garcia Marquez Scholarship
The Golden Globe Foundation Endowed Scholarship
The Golden Globe Foundation Film Scholarship
Harold and Jetta Goudal Grieve Memorial Scholarship
Memory of Michael David Green Scholarship
The Jonathan L. Greene Foundation Scholarship for Stringed Instrument
Charlie Haden Jazz Scholarship
The Hamill Family Trust Endowed Scholarship in honor of Rajeev Taranath
Viola Hegyi Swisher Scholarship Fund
Dale Melbourne Herklotz Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Eugene Hill-Smith Memorial Scholarship
Stephen Hillenburg Endowed Scholarship for Animation
