UC Riverside concluded its 71st Commencement season on June 17, with UCR’s Class of 2025 walking at eight discipline- or degree-based ceremonies. Approximately 6,100 graduates, 35,000 in-person guests, 32,000 online streamers, and about 375 volunteer staff participated in the celebrations, which started on June 6. Highlanders belonging to specific groups also took part in additional micro celebrations organized by various student resources like the University Honors Cording, and year-end celebrations hosted by UCR’s ethnic and gender centers.

Four alumni of the UC Riverside School of Education (SOE) were honored on Tuesday, May 6 at the second annual Alumni Excellence Awards in Education. The awards were established to recognize outstanding alumni who, in alignment with the mission of the SOE, are committed to advancing equitable systems and practices. The awards, hosted by Dean Joi A. Spencer, were held at the UCR Alumni and Visitors Center and sponsored by Schools First Credit Union. The 2025 award winners are: Hsin-Yu Teresa Hsu-Contreras, M.Ed. ‘18 Graduate Program Alumna Teresa Hsu-Contreras is a dedicated community

A California appeals court has temporarily blocked the Temecula Valley Unified School District’s controversial ban on critical race theory (CRT), ruling the policy is unconstitutionally vague and could silence educators. The decision halts enforcement of the district’s Resolution 21 policy, which was approved in late 2022, pending the outcome of a lawsuit that seeks to nullify the ban.

At any given time, our camera rolls are packed with tons of pictures. So, when we asked students from the UC Riverside Class of 2025 to look back at their photo galleries and find memorable moments captured during their entire university journey, we knew we were asking a lot of them. But, goodness, it was so worth it.