Nobel laureate Randy Schekman to be keynote speaker at UCLA College commencement
Randy Schekman, the UCLA alumnus who was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, will be the keynote speaker for the UCLA College of Letters and Science’s commencement ceremonies on Friday, June 13. He will speak at both the 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. ceremonies in Pauley Pavilion.
During the ceremonies, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block will present Schekman with the UCLA Medal, the university’s highest honor.
"Randy Schekman is among the world's truly outstanding scientists, a champion of public higher education and a credit to UCLA," Block said. "Through his accomplishments and his service, he embodies what it means to be a Bruin, and I am delighted he will be addressing graduates and proud to present him with the UCLA Medal."
A professor of molecular and cell biology, Schekman has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator since 1991. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and editor-in-chief of eLife, an open-access online science journal. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1971 from UCLA, where he created his own major in molecular biology, which did not previously exist at UCLA; it is now one of the campus’ most popular science majors.
"Randy Schekman is an exceptional scientist whose discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic — a major transport system in our cells — are truly remarkable," said Joseph Rudnick, senior dean of the College of Letters and Science and dean of the physical sciences. "He is also deeply devoted to UCLA and the University of California, and an outstanding speaker who has inspired his students and colleagues throughout his nearly four decades at UC Berkeley."
The UCLA Medal is bestowed on those of exceptionally distinguished academic and professional achievement whose bodies of work or contributions to society illustrate the highest ideals of UCLA. Recipients have included national and international leaders in government, education, science, industry and the arts. Previous recipients include Nobel laureates, President Bill Clinton, UCLA alumnus and Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, basketball coach John Wooden, Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun and UCLA alumna and astronaut Anna Lee Fisher.