EUGENE, Ore. — Lane Community College (LCC) will celebrate its 58th Annual Commencement on Saturday, June 17, 2023 at 10 a.m. in the LCC Gymnasium, located on the main campus at 4000 E. 30th Ave, Eugene. For those who cannot attend in person, the event will be accessible via Lane Video Streaming and will feature captions for increased accessibility.
This year, LCC will award at least 1,886 associate degrees and certificates to 1,120 members of the graduating class of 2023. The graduating class includes people from 37 states and at least 17 countries. This year’s youngest graduate is 15 years old, while the oldest is 72; the average age is 28. Roughly 54 percent of Lane’s graduating class completed transfer degrees and 46 percent earned career-technical degrees or certificates. About 53 percent identified as first-generation college students and 42 percent of the graduates will have more than one award conferred.
The keynote speaker for this year's ceremony will be the Honorable Peter DeFazio, who proudly represented Oregon’s Fourth Congressional District from 1987 to 2023. As the longest serving member in Oregon’s history and the 65th longest-serving member of the House in U.S. history, DeFazio earned the title of “Tiger of the House.”
Other esteemed speakers include LCC's President Dr. Stephanie Bulger, Chair of the LCC Board of Education Rosie Pryor, student body president Nikhar Neerejh Ramlakhan, and LCC instructor Laura Pelletier.
Crystal Platt, co-owner and chef of Lion and Owl in Eugene, will be recognized as the recipient of this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award. Platt, a graduate of LCC’s Culinary Program, was recently nominated as Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest by the James Beard Foundation.
"This will be a day we not only celebrate the remarkable achievements of our students but also honor their unwavering dedication and resilience," said President Stephanie Bulger, who will be presiding over her first commencement as Lane’s President. "As they embark on their next chapter, we trust they will continue to be shining examples of the transformative power of education and the limitless potential that lies within each of us."
LCC Commencement By the Numbers:
- 54: Percentage of graduates completing transfer degrees
- 46: Percentage of graduates completing career-technical degrees or certificates
- 53: Percentage of first-generation college students
- 51: Percentage of graduates who received Pell grants
- 22: Percentage of graduates who received Oregon Promise grants
- 28.6: Percentage of graduates who self-identified as Latinx or BIPOC
- 13: Percentage of graduates who received services from the Center for Accessible Resources (disability services) during their time at Lane
- 4.6: Percentage of international student graduates
Lane Community College educates over 15,000 students annually at six locations across Lane County and online. Students and alumni from all 50 states and 79 countries create more than an $850 million dollar impact on the local economy, helping to support more than 13,000 local jobs. Lane provides affordable, quality, professional technical and college transfer programs; business development and employee training; academic, language and life skills development; and lifelong personal development and enrichment courses.