Celebrating Our Graduates
On May 17, 2025, Keck Graduate Institute proudly celebrates the achievements of our graduates in a memorable commencement ceremony. This milestone event recognizes the hard work, dedication, and accomplishments of our students as they embark on their professional journeys.
Keynote Speaker
John Carpten
Chief Scientific Officer, City of Hope
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Date & Time
Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Location
Gardiner Spring Auditorium (GWS)
1245 N. Euclid Ave., Ontario, CA 91762
Parking & Directions
Livestream Ceremony
Commencement Program
A digital program, which includes the schedule, speaker bios, and a list of all graduates will be available soon.
Additional Resources
Regalia
- Place orders on: herffjones.com.
- Type in Keck Graduate Institute in the search field and the school will show as Keck Graduate Institute, click the school’s name link to continue to the ordering site. Deadline to order: April 11, 2025.
How to wear your cap and gown
- Master’s video
- Doctorate video (PhD and PharmD grads will be hooded on stage. Please plan on holding onto your hood over your right arm.)
Stoles and Cords
Graduating students are only permitted to wear cords and stoles that meet the following guidelines:
Graduation Cords
Students may only wear cords that:
- Are issued by their KGI academic programs.
- Are provided by national organizations with which they are officially affiliated.
- No other cords are permitted. If your cords are not provided by a KGI academic program, you must contact the Commencement Committee at KGIcommencement@kgi.edu for approval before the ceremony.
Graduation Stoles
Students may wear:
- Official KGI-issued stoles, including those for academic programs, student government, and registered student organizations in good standing.
- Academic program stoles, which must be ordered through KGI’s preferred vendor, CollegeWear, which provides pre-approved templates for each program (the KGI logo must be on the right side, and the program name should be on the left).
- Stoles approved by national organizations, provided they use the official national organization-approved stole design. The KGI logo is not required.
- Personal/custom stoles, only if the design is submitted to the Commencement Committee for review and approval at least two weeks before graduation.
For approval requests or additional information, please contact the Commencement Committee at KGIcommencement@kgi.edu before the ceremony.
Check back for information about KGI’s End of Year events.
In addition to KGI’s ceremony, we encourage you to participate in other celebratory events for The Claremont Colleges taking place the week of May 12, 2025. These events are open to everyone. More details to come.
- Baccalaureate (Office of Chaplains): Friday, May 16, 2025 @ 3:30 PM
- Chicano Latino Student Affairs (CLSA): Friday, May 16, 2025 @ 7-9 PM ; Please confirm participation here by Friday, March 14, 2025
- International Students Ceremony: Wednesday, May 14, 2025 @ 3-6 PM
- Office of Black Student Affairs (OBSA): More information to come.
- Queer Resource Center (QRC): More information to come.
John D. Carpten
Chief Scientific Officer, City of Hope
Dr. John D. Carpten currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer for the City of Hope, where he also serves as Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and Director of Beckman Research Institute. Dr. Carpten’s expertise spans a very broad range of research disciplines including genome science, tumor profiling, cancer cell biology, functional genomics, health disparities, and precision medicine. The primary goal of Dr. Carpten’s research program is to discover molecular alterations in cancer and to translate these findings into new approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. His work has impacted our understanding of a variety of cancer types particularly those that disproportionately affect underrepresented groups. Dr. Carpten has co-authored over 200 peer reviewed publications. He has received numerous awards and was inducted into the AACR Fellows of the Academy in 2021. In October 2021, Dr. Carpten received an appointment from President Bident to serve as Chair for the National Cancer Advisory Board.
Parking is available on campus at a lot located on 4th Street and the church/district lot located off- on 5th Street. Signage will be available to direct guests.
Street parking is available, but you must read signs to ensure parking is permitted. Please see
Directions to the Auditorium (From 10 East)
Please permit extra travel time due to the construction on the 10 freeway. Please see the parking map.
- Take exit 51 for CA-83-Euclid Ave toward Ontario-Upland
- Turn right onto CA-83 S Euclid Ave
- Turn right onto W 5th St
Guest Tickets
Graduates will receive a guest registration link via email from a company called Tassel. Once graduates submit their request for tickets on this website, they will receive a registration link to send to guests directly. Guests will receive a QR-coded ticket via email. This QR code is unique and will be used to check in at commencement.
The auditorium has a limited number of seats. Graduates will be able to request up to four tickets.
Guest Information
- Doors to the auditorium will open at 1 p.m.
- Please leave items that will obstruct views in the car (i.e., balloons). Loud horns and noisemakers are not allowed as this disrupts the ability to hear the next graduate’s name.
- Babies and small children that will sit on a lap do not need a ticket.
- The ceremony is slated to last two hours.
- Only water is permitted in the auditorium.
- There will be a photographer taking photos of each graduate crossing the stage. These photos be made available after the ceremony.
- An ADA ramp and drop-off zone are located on the side of the auditorium. Please see the parking map.