CIIS’ 57th Commencement Ceremony

CIIS will hold its 57th annual commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 17, 2025 at A.C.T.'s Toni Rembe Theater — a historic venue in the heart of Union Square in downtown San Francisco. In addition to the awarding of doctoral, master’s, and bachelor’s degrees to the Class of 2025, this year’s event will include several musical performances and a variety of speeches from members of CIIS’ Beloved Community — University leaders, faculty, and graduating students.

This year marks a bittersweet milestone as we celebrate the retirements of two esteemed professors, Annette Williams, Ph.D., from the Department of Women’s Spirituality, and Shoshana Simons, Ph.D., from the M.A. in Counseling Psychology concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy. These accomplished faculty members, both former chairs of their respective programs, will share their words and wisdom with the graduating class during the event. Drawing on her years leading Women’s Spirituality, Professor Williams will offer the invocation for the ceremony, while Professor Simons will lend her skills as a performer and decades of experience in the Expressive Arts to what is sure to be a moving and engaging commencement address.

The ceremony will also include remarks from University President S. Brock Blomberg, Provost Kathy Littles, and Executive Dean of Institutional Research, Innovation, and Strategy Kris Brandenburger. In addition to their roles as faculty members, professors Willow Pearson Trimbach, Psy.D., core faculty in Clinical Psychology, and Sangeeta Swamy, Ph.D., co-chair of the M.A. in Counseling Psychology concentration in Integral Counseling Psychology, are also accomplished musicians. Each will share an original composition with the crowd.
 

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The ceremony would not be complete without the voice of the students themselves, and this year, the Class of 2025 will be well represented with two student speakers and a student-led performance to conclude the festivities. Dominic Bucci, a graduate of the B.S. in Psychology and student in the East-West Psychology Joint MFA program, will represent our bachelor’s-degree completion graduates. Marissa Huang, a graduate of the M.A. in Counseling Psychology concentration in Integral Counseling Psychology, and an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist at CIIS’ Pierce Street Integral Counseling Center, will share her perspective on the graduate-student experience at CIIS. To end the event, Rachel Lastimosa, a community organizer, interdisciplinary artist, and graduate of the Expressive Arts Therapy program, will lead graduates and their guests in a call-and-response people’s choir. This special performance will send off the Class of 2025 in a uniquely CIIS style, buoyed up by the voices of Beloved Community, of which their own voices play such an integral part.

Following the ceremony, graduates and their guests are invited to stay at the theater for a champagne toast celebration of the Class of 2025.