SSU graduates 1,888
Sonoma State University bestowed degrees upon 1,888 graduates during the university’s 2025 Commencement ceremonies May 17 and 18 at Green Music Center on the SSU campus.
SSU’s three colleges held five ceremonies over the two Commencement days. The College of Science, Technology, and Business held ceremonies at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, May 17, for 427 and 338 graduates, respectively. The College of Education, Counseling, and Ethnic Studies held its single ceremony for 384 graduates at 5 p.m. the same day.
On Sunday, May 18, the College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts had ceremonies at 9 a.m. (394 graduates) and at 1 p.m. (345 graduates).
SSU Interim President Emily Cutrer praised the Class of 2025 for “making things happen,” and urged graduates to remember to always prioritize their personal relationships. “Time is precious — none more precious than the time you have with family, friends, and colleagues,” she said. “None more precious than your capacity — inside that time — to improve their lives through your knowledge, counsel, and compassion.”
Sonoma State also bestowed honorary degrees on two longtime North Bay community leaders during the May 17 Commencement ceremonies.
Chris Stewart, president and co-founder of Pocket Radar, and Dr. Jong Lee, owner and president of the Lee Accountancy Group, received Doctor of Humane Letters (LHD) degrees at Commencement. Both degrees were conferred at the two-part College of Science, Technology, and Business ceremony on May 17, with Lee taking part in the 9 a.m. ceremony and Stewart being recognized at the 1 p.m. ceremony the same day.
The honorary degrees were approved by the California State University Board of Trustees.
“These outstanding community members and supporters of the university are very deserving of this recognition, and Sonoma State could not be happier to be honoring them,” Cutrer said.