UC Davis' commencements are once again a mostly homegrown affair, with only a handful of colleges and schools hosting outside speakers.

Also this year, Chancellor Larry Vander-hoef gave his first commencement speech away from UC Davis, addressing the graduates of Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.

Back at UC Davis, Vanderhoef or Provost Virginia Hinshaw plan to deliver remarks at every ceremony: 12 in all, scheduled through June 17.

The first took place in May for the School of Law, which is on the semester system. The rest of UC Davis operates on the quarter system, with later commencements; they are due to begin June 9.

Most of the programs will include student and faculty speakers, along with college and school representatives. Four colleges and schools invited outside speakers:

• Sundeep Dugar, who received his doctorate in chemistry at UC Davis, speaking at the Graduate Studies commencement.
• Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction, speaking at the School of Education commencement.
• A.G. Kawamura, state secretary of food and agriculture, speaking twice for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, at its morning and afternoon ceremonies.
• Gus Lee, author, attorney and public advocate, who addressed the School of Law commencement on May 19. Lee graduated from the same school in 1976.

This will be Hinshaw's last round of commencements here, as she prepares to take up her new position as chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, starting July 1.

Vanderhoef spoke May 23 at Cosumnes River College. The president there is Francisco Rodriguez, who previously worked for 12 years in undergraduate programs at UC Davis and headed the Cross-Cultural Center. The UC Davis graduate is a former president of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association.

Vanderhoef, in a speech titled "Finding — and Being — an Inspiration," noted that he too began his higher education at a two-year college.

"But, you know, I wouldn't have even found my way there from high school had it not been for others," he said.

"I suspect we all have stories about nudges — gentle or otherwise — that have helped us find our paths ... stories about others who have inspired us, consciously or not, to see possibilities that we never would have imagined for ourselves."

He then talked about two people who early on helped him see possibilities that he would not have seen otherwise: a truck farmer for whom he worked during the summers as a teenager, and a high school English teacher.

He concluded by suggesting that "we're all meant to pass some of that blessing on — to not just find the inspiration for ourselves but to be the inspiration for others. You may not even realize how or when you're touching another, or how important your example can be. … To inspire and to be inspired — it's what life is really all about."

Inspiration is but one gift to offer others. Mentoring is another, and that is the topic of one of UC Davis' outside commencement speakers this year.

"From my perspective, we are all mentors, by design or by accident," said Dugar, who is scheduled to speak at the Graduate Studies commencement on June 14.

"I think this a great honor for an alum to be asked to come to speak at the commencement," he said by e-mail.

If the Graduate Studies commencement is anything like his at UC Davis, the degree recipients will recall the occasion well into the future.

"I remember my Ph.D. in 1984," Dugar said. "It was held at the Rec Hall. I do remember clearly walking to the dais to receive my degree."

He has put it to good use: He became a senior scientist at Schering-Plough Corp. and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and vice president for chemistry at Scios Inc. Dugar then started his own company, Advantium Pharma, and it later merged with another company to become SAI Advantium.

"We collaborate on drug discovery with small- to medium-sized biotechs," he explained.

Last year, Dugar advised the UC Davis Department of Chemistry as it established a new designated emphasis in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. The program is intended to give students more exposure to applied aspects of chemistry, and increase the number of graduates with bachelor's degrees and strong backgrounds in pharmaceutical chemistry.

O'Connell, scheduled to speak at the School of Education commencement on June 13, is now serving his second four-year term as the state's elected schools chief.

He grew up in Southern California, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from California State University, Fullerton, and a secondary teaching credential from CSU Long Beach.

He returned to his high school alma mater to teach for several years and later served on the Santa Barbara County Board of Education before being elected to the state Legislature as an assemblyman and then a senator.

His communications director, Ann Bancroft, said the superintendent had not finished writing his UC Davis speech, but that one of his common themes for education graduates is their role in preparing lifelong learners.

"He probably will call on them to help make that happen," said Bancroft, noting the challenges that educators face at a time like now when society is changing rapidly.

Kawamura is scheduled to address the graduates of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences on June 16. Gov. Schwarzenegger appointed him to lead the Department of Food and Agriculture in November 2003.

Kawamura is a produce grower and shipper from Orange County, where his family grows strawberries, green beans and other specialty crops. He holds a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from UC Berkeley.