LA Philharmonic Violinist Among La Verne Winter Commencement Speakers
The bowed and plucked notes of Vijay Gupta’s violin extend far beyond vast amphitheaters and concert halls. And his audience members are not just dignitaries and donors.
Gupta, one of three keynote speakers featured during University of La Verne’s Winter Commencement on Jan. 31, has brought classical music to homeless shelters and prisons throughout Los Angeles County since 2011 with a nonprofit organization he co-founded called Street Symphony.
Nearly 1,000 University of La Verne students have been cleared to graduate and more than 600 are expected to participate in the ceremonies at La Verne’s Sports Science Athletic Pavilion.
La Verne’s 2015 Winter Commencement honors undergraduate and graduate candidates from the university’s main campus, including students from the Campus Accelerated Program for Adults (CAPA) and students studying at regional campuses and off-campus programs overseen by the Regional Campus Administration (RCA).
Due to limited seating, attendance is restricted to people provided tickets by the graduates or university officials. Campus parking is free, but attendees are advised to arrive at least one hour prior to the scheduled start. Parking on city streets adjacent to the university is regulated and will be enforced as posted.
9:30 a.m. – Dr. Barbara Nicoll, Chair of Child Development Programs at University of La Verne, has spent much of her career studying and teaching subjects related to care and education for young children. She directed the Institute for Early Childhood Education – a collaborative between La Verne, Citrus Community College and the Child Development Center at the Fairplex.
Dr. Nicoll has served as professor and Chair of the University’s Child Development Graduate Program. She has studied critical thinking, brain and math development and attachment, authoring numerous papers on the subjects. Dr. Nicoll has been a member of a number of organizations including the Association for the Education of Young Children, Parent Cooperative Preschools International and the National Association of Women’s Studies. Retiring this year, Nicoll will be keynote speaker for the College of Education and Organizational Leadership.
1 p.m. – Serving as commencement speaker during the College of Business and Public Management ceremony will be Dr. Philip Pumerantz, founding president of Western University of Health Sciences. Dr. Pumerantz has been at the helm of Western University since 1977 when it was known as the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific. Its first class had 36 students.
The institution has since grown to more than 3,700 students and has more than 11,000 alumni. Dr. Pumerantz has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the 1995 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Connecticut, the 1995 Dale Dodson Award for national leadership from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine and the 2010 Distinguished Educator Award from the Boy Scouts of America.
4:30 p.m. – Vijay Gupta joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2007 at the age of 19 after completing a master’s degree in music from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Marist College. He is engaged in various LA Phil educational outreach initiatives, and is a passionate advocate of bringing music to ostracized communities.
In addition to performing for the homeless and jail inmates, Gupta’s nonprofit, Street Symphony also performs at public events to raise awareness of mental health, incarceration and homelessness issues. The ceremony is for the College of Arts and Sciences, but will also include students from the College of Business and Public Management.
