Class of 2026 Commencement
Class of 2026 Commencement
Congratulations to the Class of 2026!
-
Commencement Details
- Date: Tuesday, May 19, 9:30-11 a.m.
- Location: Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco CA 94102
-
Watch Online
The event will be streamed live via YouTube and can be viewed by anyone with the event link on a computer or cell phone. The video will remain available to watch after the event ends.
Admission and tickets
Guest tickets are available via Eventbrite.
- Graduates do not need a ticket and will receive information from the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) about their check-in process.
- There is no charge to enter.
- A ticket is required for every guest.
- You can order as many tickets as you need.
- Guests unable to adhere to the terms outlined when registering will be refused admission.
Commencement speaker
Dr. J. Robert Powell, PharmD, is a clinical pharmacologist whose career has focused on precision drug dosing for diverse patient populations. A longtime leader in drug development and clinical pharmacology, he has worked across academia, the pharmaceutical industry, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to improve how drugs are dosed from early clinical development through market approval.
Dr. Powell earned his BS in Pharmacy from West Virginia University and his PharmD from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, followed by an NIH postdoctoral fellowship in pharmacokinetics at the UCSF School of Pharmacy—where he identified his career purpose: ensuring that drug dosing is optimized for all patients, including those often underrepresented in clinical trials.
He has over 20 years of academic experience, 17 years in pharmaceutical development with Glaxo, Parke-Davis, and Roche, and six years at the FDA, where he helped establish the use of pharmacometrics in new drug approvals. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and served as the ninth president of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.
Currently, Dr. Powell is an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy, continuing his work to advance more precise and equitable drug dosing for real-world patients.
Selected publications referenced in his commencement address include:
Powell JR, Vozeh S, Hopewell PC, Costello J, Sheiner LB, Riegelman S: Theophylline Disposition in Acutely Ill Hospitalized Patients with Airway Obstruction, Am.Rev.Resp. Dis., 118:229-238, 1978. (1974-7 UCSF Fellowship research project)
Powell JR, Al Qaraghuli, F, Fiedler-Kelly, J, Gonzalez, D, Weiner, D. Dabigatran dosing proposal for Adults with Atrial Fibrillation: Stress-testing renal function range in real world patients. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 114:362-70, 2023. (most recent patient dosing project)
Powell, JR, Cook, J, Wang, Y, Peck, R, Weiner, D. Drug dosing recommendations for all patients: A roadmap for change. Clin Pharmacol Ther 109: 65-72, 2021. (review on dosing for all patients)
Arriving to the venue
For transportation options aside from ride sharing services, there are two nearby parking garages for attendees driving to the venue and public transportation options. For parking options near the venue, you may park at the Civic Center Plaza Garage or the Performing Arts Garage. Rates vary throughout the day. MUNI lines serving Davies Symphony Hall include #5, 21, 47, and 49. Underground MUNI metro and the F Streetcar line stop nearby at Market Street and Van Ness Avenue. BART lines serve the nearby Civic Center station at Market and Eighth Streets. For more information on Bay Area public transportation options and trip planning for the entire San Francisco Bay Area, please visit 511.org or by dialing 511.
Photography
The School of Pharmacy will be photographing this event. Photos may be used in UCSF marketing and communications.
Celebratory and decorative items
We understand that guests may want to bring celebratory or decorative items to commencement to celebrate their graduate. Per venue guidelines, balloons, bullhorns, and air horns are not allowed. Signage is allowed but may only be put up momentarily as your graduate crosses the stage to allow other audience members to view their graduate. We ask that you refrain from putting leis and flower arrangements around your graduate until after the ceremony to ease the hooding process.
FAQs
About 90 minutes.
During the ceremony, the Bowl of Hygeia Award is presented as the highest honor given to a graduating student of the UCSF School of Pharmacy.
Questions?
Contact the Office of Student Affairs at [email protected].
Need accessibility accommodations?
Contact Leslie Chocano Solis at [email protected] by May 1 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific to ensure proper accessibility arrangements can be made.