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Photograph by Alex Berliner @ Berliner Studio/BeImages Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program singers perform at the School of Theater, Film and Television graduation.

ucla graduates more than 6,000

Commencement: Sunny
send-off for the class of 2005

BY anne burke
UCLA Today Staff

A cookie-devouring celebrity puppet, an Academy Award-winning actor and a best-selling author helped UCLA send more than 6,000 graduates off to conquer the world during commencement ceremonies earlier this month.

Picture-perfect spring weather greeted more than 60,000 guests who converged on UCLA for dozens of commencement exercises and celebrations June 16 to June 19. The largest ceremony took place June 17 in Pauley Pavilion, where 2,600 graduates from the UCLA College delighted to a surprise appearance from Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster.

Photograph by Scott Quintard UCLA Photo Cookie Monster makes a surprise appearance at the College ceremony. The Muppet accompanied alumnus Gary Knell, head of Sesame Workshop, to the Pauley Pavilion stage.

“Cookie” accompanied keynote speaker Gary Knell, a 1975 graduate and the president/CEO of Sesame Workshop. The fuzzy, blue Muppet boasted that he was on a health kick and had changed his name to “Brussels Sprout Monster.” No sooner had he uttered the words than his resolve weakened and he messily devoured a cookie, to the deafening roar of the graduates.

A former Daily Bruin reporter, Knell urged graduates to avoid cynicism and dream big. “You all have the power to make a difference on the street where you live,” he said.

At the Theater, Film and Television commencement at Perloff Quad on June 17, Chancellor Albert Carnesale presented the UCLA Medal, the university’s highest honor, to actor Anthony Hopkins, who received an Academy Award for best actor for “Silence of the Lambs.” His wife, Stella, beamed from her seat.

Photograph by Alex Berliner @ Berliner Studio/BeImages Vivian Sobchack, associate dean of theater, film and television, swoons for actor Anthony Hopkins.

The typically self-effacing Hopkins, who studied at the College of Music and Drama in Cardiff in his native Wales, admitted to the aspiring actors in the audience that he had no trade secrets to pass along: “Honestly, I can tell you I have no idea what acting is about,” he said. He nevertheless advised tomorrow’s stars of stage and screen to “keep it simple.”

During the past academic year, he taught a series of seminars for acting and directing students. He returns to the School of Theater, Film and Television next year as a Regent’s Lecturer.

Fay Kanin, Hollywood writer, producer and actress, delivered the keynote address while Geoffrey Gilmore, director of the Sundance Film Festival, received the Alumni Achievement Award.

At Pauley Pavilion on June 18, engineering graduates laughed and hooted as commencement speaker John H. Marburger III made references to comic strip engineer Dilbert, slide rules and pocket protectors. On a more serious note, Marburger, President Bush’s science adviser, went on to say that engineers “are oriented toward getting things done ... in the face of obstacles.”

At the School of Nursing commencement on June 18, California Secretary of Education and former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan spoke of the “untapped potential of nursing to help improve the health of the people of California.”

Also receiving UCLA Medals were author Umberto Eco of Italy; philanthropists Terry S. Semel, CEO of Yahoo! Inc., and Jane Bovingdon Semel, founder of ijane inc.; architect Frank Gehry; and James A. Banks, Russell F. Stark University Professor in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Washington.

Photograph by Todd Cheney UCLA Photo School of the Arts and Architecture grads are all smiles at their commencement.

While UCLA grads represent students of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities, few have a story as unusual as that of Jim Andrade, 57, and his sons James Christopher, 29, and Daniel Patrick, 23.

The father returned to UCLA in 2002 to finish coursework for a history degree that he began in the 1970s. Just three days before classes were to start, he was forced to undergo triple bypass surgery. He bounced back and was able to resume his studies, completing degree requirements in fall 2004. Jim and his two sons were on hand June 19 for UCLA’s Raza student celebration for Latino students. Daniel Patrick received his degree in 2003 while James Christopher graduated this year.

Jim Andrade next heads to California State University, Channel Islands, to pursue a teaching credential.

No doubt the busiest speaker was the chancellor, who hopped from one commencement to another, passing along this favorite bit of advice: “Whenever you have a choice among alternative career paths, take the one that will excite you the most.”

Carnesale also gave graduates this fair warning: “UCLA is going to take credit for everything you do for the rest of your lives.”

Rich Schmitt UCLA Today Dancer Iddi Saaka will put his education to work fighting AIDS in his native Ghana.

Ghanaian grad goes home to fight HIV/AIDS

Iddi Saaka’s African-inspired dancing has delighted UCLA audiences since 2002, when the Ghana native arrived on campus to pursue a master of fine arts in choreography.

Saaka graduated this month, but instead of seeking a career on an American dance stage, he will put his degree to work fighting HIV/AIDS in his home country.

“I’ve learned a lot here but to tell you the truth, I feel I’m needed more in Ghana,” said Saaka, 31, who has performed at Royce Hall, the Fowler Museum and the Skirball Cultural Center.

Saaka and his wife, Galia Boneh, also a dancer, intend to use a traditional Ghanaian art form called the “concert party” to help eliminate the cruel stigmatization of people with HIV/AIDS. Concert parties are itinerant theatrical events that use humor and music to tell stories with social and political messages. Saaka and Boneh hope that by organizing a concert party made up of performers who are openly HIV-positive yet healthy and happy, they will encourage those at risk to seek testing and treatment. Ghanaians often avoid testing for fear of being shunned.

“If you see people who are on stage dancing, smiling and rejoicing, you’ll go, ‘Oh, if you have the disease, you can still be healthy and have a good life,’ ” Saaka said.

A musician and children’s book author as well as a dancer, Saaka has received numerous awards. He and classmate Liam Clancy were featured performers and speakers at the School of the Arts and Architecture commencement June 18.

“Not only is he a riveting performer,” said David Gere, acting chair of the world arts and cultures department, “but he and his wife are interested in what the arts can accomplish in the world in real and tangible terms.”

Dance is pervasive among Ghanaian children, but Saaka’s talent set him apart at a young age. After earning a dance degree at the University of Ghana, he traveled to Israel, where he met Boneh and performed widely.

Audiences have another chance to see Saaka perform on campus at the World Festival of Sacred Music Sept. 17 before he departs for Ghana.

— A.B.