California State University, Bakersfield held three commencement ceremonies over the weekend. Nearly 2,000 graduates accepted their diplomas and started a new chapter in their lives.
Some 1,611 undergraduate students earned degrees this spring, joining the 1,169 Roadrunner graduates from the fall ceremony, to bring the total for the entire academic year to 2,780 new Roadrunner alumni. In addition, 317 students received their master’s degrees, up from the 183 students in the fall. Three students earned doctoral degrees in educational leadership, bringing the total for the academic year to five.
Also, for the first time ever, CSUB conferred a bachelor's degree in public health after launching the new major in the fall of 2021.
Two honorary doctoral degrees were awarded in Humane Letters. The late Cesar Chavez was honored for his leadership in the farmworker civil rights movement that started in the fields of Kern County and extended around the world. Irma Carson, who graduated from a segregated high school, was present at a morning ceremony on Friday to receive her honorary doctorate for her barrier-breaking legacy as an African-American woman in the region that culminated with her years of leadership on the Bakersfield City Council.