By Lookout Staff

May 5, 2015 -- Santa Monica College President Dr. Chui L. Tsang, who is retiring after nine years at the helm as the school year ends, will be the 2015 SMC commencement speaker, college officials announced Thursday.

About 3,900 degrees and certificates will be awarded and 700 students are expected to take part in SMC’s 85th commencement ceremony Tuesday, June 16, at 6 p.m. at Corsair Field.

“It is a distinctive privilege for us to have President Tsang address our graduates this year, at the end of his tenure at SMC," said Executive Vice President Jeff Shimizu, who is stepping in as interim president in July.

"He has transformed the College with his unique vision of global citizenship, his progressive brand of leadership, and his passion for academic excellence,” Shimizu said.

SMC usually selects leaders from other colleges and universities as commencement speakers, said SMC spokesperson Grace Smith.

This year, however, college officials departed from tradition because the speech dovetails with Tsang’s farewell to the college.

“We thought it would be appropriate for him to speak to the students,” she said. “It will give him a chance to impart some of the lessons he has learned throughout the years.”

Tsang began his tenure at SMC nine years ago, “shortly before the state’s community college system plunged into its worst economic crisis to hit since the passage of Proposition 13” in 1978.

“Not only did he guide the college through a rocky budget climate – from which SMC emerged with a favorable financial reserve and retaining all employees – he did so while championing innovative programs and establishing new partnerships,” SMC officials said.

Tsang found himself under fire three years ago when he proposed a plan to offer more of SMC’s most-demanded classes during the winter and summer sessions at a higher tuition to offset State budget cuts. The move was criticized as creating two-tiered educational system, and the proposal was never implemented.

One of the highlights of his tenure, Tsang often says, was the recent selection of SMC to be among 15 community colleges in a pilot project to offer a bachelor’s degree in Interaction Design.

About 33,000 students attend SMC, which has a faculty of 1,400.

This year’s commencement will also feature the awarding of the Santa Monica College Distinguished Alumni Recognition Award to artist Andrew Hem, renowned for his illustrations and murals, and to author and retired Microsoft Corporation executive Nathan Myhrvold.

For the sixth year in a row, the ceremony also will be webcast live and available on the SMC Alumni Association webpage (alumni.smc.edu).