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Message 2025DoctoralCommencementCeremonyMay 14th | 1:00 p.m.
Live captioning for all USC Rossier Commencement Ceremonies can be viewed on your mobile device by scanning the QR Code.bit.ly/25CommencementCaptioning
USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION2025 D C CProcessional Flag and Banner BearersLaurel Mackie Kruke Doctor of Philosophy, Education CandidateAlicia Antoinette Moseby-Black Doctor of Education, Organizational Change and Leadership CandidateWelcome Pedro A. NogueraDistinguished Professor of EducationEmery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops DeanHistory of Academic Regalia Lawrence O. PicusRichard T. Cooper and Mary Catherine Cooper Chair in Public School AdministrationAssociate Dean for Faculty AairsProfessor of Education Finance and PolicyPresentation of Dissertation Awards Kathy StoweAssociate Dean for Academic ProgramsProfessor of Clinical EducationCommencementAddressBettina L. LoveWilliam F. Russell Professorship at Teachers College, Columbia University and AuthorHooding ofDoctoral CandidatesDoctor of Philosophy, EducationDoctor of Philosophy, Urban Education PolicyDoctor of Education, Educational LeadershipDoctor of Education, Global ExecutiveDoctor of Education, Organizational Change and LeadershipConcluding Remarks Pedro A. NogueraDistinguished Professor of EducationEmery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops DeanA reception for graduates and guests will be heldimmediately following the ceremony on Pardee Way Lawn.
M F T DWelcome to our graduates, friends, family and alumni. Today, the USC Rossier School of Education celebrates the Class of 2025.When you cross the stage today, it will signify a tremendous accomplishment. After countless hours of research, writing and studying, you have achieved your goal of graduating as professionals from USC Rossier. rough hard work and perseverance, you have earned this honor. Today we celebrate your achievement and look forward to seeing the positive contributions you will make to our society.e word commencement literally means beginning. I want you to think about that for a moment. While your studies at USC Rossier have concluded, you are now beginning a new chapter of life. With your new degrees you are now prepared to take on new responsibilities and challenges. We are living at a time of great uncertainty. On so many fronts: our economy, politics, the environment and health, we face enormous challenges. Despite these headwinds, I remain condent and hopeful because of the talent and resolve I sense among you. Regardless of what lies ahead, I hope you will draw upon your intelligence and the awareness that each of us has the ability to do something to make a positive dierence in the world. I also want you to know that whatever you decide to pursue next, you will always have the support and partnership of your fellow Trojans. We are here to help you realize your professional aspirations and to assist you in making a positive dierence through the work you will do.As you know, the mission of USC Rossier remains unchanged, despite the threats to those that embrace DEI—Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. How could we do otherwise? When I look out at the diversity of our graduates, I am grateful that USC Rossier continues to prepare leaders who will advance equity through practice, research, service and policy. Your drive and determination make our mission real. I cannot assure any of you that our commitments will not lead to us being targeted. Already, some of our faculty have lost major grants because the authorities in Washington determined that their interest in expanding access to education for those who have historically been denied, was unworthy of federal support. is is a setback but not a defeat. We will nd ways to continue to do the work that is so vital to the kind of nation we will become and the kind of future we will create. Education remains one of the best resources we have for creating a more equitable and just society. Our commitment to our mission, therefore, is more than just a fad. It is rooted in our values and in the work being done by our faculty, sta and graduates. Over the past few months, I have been searching for guidance and inspiration to help me in nding a path during this challenging period. My search has led me to read widely, to seek out advice from Indigenous elders and to reect on how those who preceded us dealt with attacks and setbacks before. In February, I participated
M F T Din a commemoration of the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery. Instead of marching, we did the 57-mile trip on bicycle which still proved to be quite challenging. I was lled with emotion as we crossed the Edmond Pettus Bridge, knowing that dozens of others had been violently attacked for attempting to cross that bridge 60 years ago. I was inspired when I saw the images of the original marchers, one of whom was a veteran with one leg, and I was deeply moved when we stopped at the memorial to over 4,000 victims of lynchings and saw their names hanging from plaques. e experience reminded me that we have been through challenging times before, far worse than anything we have encountered so far. Recently, I have been reading the philosopher Bayo Akomolafe, who encourages us to see that when the “times are urgent we must slow down.” Slow down so that we can be strategic as we plan our career moves, and reective as we decide for ourselves how to handle the challenges that lie ahead. My hope is that as you leave this place, you will know that your education isn’t just a personal achievement. You are part of a broader community of humans that must gure out how to use our curiosity, creativity and talent to create a world that is more just and sustainable. As USC Rossier graduates, you are equipped to participate fully in meeting the challenges of our time head-on. We have condence in you. You have already demonstrated that you are capable of overcoming obstacles to complete your degree. We have no doubt that you will rise to meet the challenges you will face with equanimity, determination and grace. We encourage you to use your intellect, to never be afraid to ask dicult questions and to seek meaningful partnerships and collaborations with those who share your values. We know that you will stand up for what you believe in.We hope that you will stay connected to the USC Rossier community. You are now a member of the Trojan Family, so you will never be alone in this journey. On behalf of USC Rossier’s faculty, sta and alumni, I wish you good health, success and happiness in all your professional endeavors. You came to USC Rossier because you want to make a dierence. We can’t wait to see all that you accomplish in the years ahead as together we work to use education as a resource to address the complex challenges of our times.Fight On!Pedro A. Noguera, PhDDistinguished Professor of EducationEmery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean
2025 C SBettina L. LoveWilliam F. Russell Professorship at Teachers College, Columbia University and AuthorBettina L. Love holds the prestigious William F. Russell Professorship at Teachers College, Columbia University, and is the celebrated author of Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal, a New York Times bestseller. is groundbreaking work earned her the Stowe Prize for Literary Activism, a nalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, long-listed for the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize and winner of the Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice. In 2022, the Kennedy Center honored her as one of their Next 50 Leaders for her dedication to fostering inspiration, inclusivity, and compassion, and in 2024, she was awarded the Truth Award for Excellence in Education from Better Brothers Los Angeles and e Diva Foundation. In 2024, she also received the Black Girl Magic Award at the Lincoln Center in New York City.Love was a key gure in founding the task force behind the transformative In Her Hands initiative, which distributed over $13 million in nancial support to Black women across Georgia. As a highly sought after public speaker, she addresses topics including abolitionist teaching, anti-racism, hip-hop education, Black girlhood, queer youth, educational reparations and the role of art-based education in fostering youth civic engagement. Her insights have been featured in prominent media outlets such as NPR, PBS, e Daily Beast, Time, Education Week, e Guardian, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 2018, the Georgia House of Representatives honored Love with a resolution recognizing her signicant contributions to education. As a public scholar, she regularly contributes to Education Week Opinion on issues of race and education in America. Her book We Want To Do More an Survive has sold nearly 200,000 copies and remains a staple in classrooms across the country, solidifying her role as a leading voice in education today.
2025 C S C F YG C CRoyel M. Johnson Associate Professor of Higher Education Chair, PhD Governance Committee Congratulations on reaching this important milestone in your academic journey! Fullling the requirements for a PhD requires considerable eort, dedication and discipline—qualities that you have clearly demonstrated. We trust that you will apply what you learned at USC Rossier within your professional spheres of inuence to advance educational equity. Take some time to soak this moment in and truly celebrate what you have accomplished, as none of us take lightly what it means to achieve what you have in this current moment. Fight On!Cathy KropProfessor of Clinical EducationChair, Educational Leadership Governance CommitteeOn behalf of our EDL community: Congratulations, graduates! Today is one of great celebration and dreams fullled. You have worked hard to reach this day, and you inspire us and everyone around you. As you complete your doctoral journey, you are at the beginning of a new one. We know you will take what you have learned and use your leadership to address historically entrenched inequities, building new opportunities and visionary thinking to transform teaching and learning in schools, colleges and universities, and other educational spaces. We believe in you, and keep being adventurous and courageous as you create bold new futures. You carry with you the strength of our community and the Trojan family, and the love and pride of all who celebrate you today. Fight On!Anthony B. MaddoxProfessor of Clinical Education and EngineeringChair, Global Executive EdD Governance Committee Congratulations, graduates! On behalf of your faculty, I am honored to congratulate you on earning the title of doctor of education. Your perseverance, creativity and dedication to educational excellence inspires everyone around you. roughout your 25 months in the program you enriched each other intellectually and encouraged one another through every stage of this journey. Today we celebrate your accomplishments. is degree attests to the depth of your knowledge as global educational leaders and your great promise as agents of positive change. We look forward to the innovations you will bring to communities around the world. Keep envisioning the brightest possible future, and Fight On!Courtney L. MalloyProfessor of Clinical EducationChair, Organizational Change and Leadership Governance Committee Congratulations, OCL graduates! On behalf of the faculty, I am honored to congratulate you on achieving this signicant milestone. Your hard work and perseverance have brought you to this moment, and I am excited to be celebrating with you and your loved ones today. In many ways, the culmination of your doctoral program is not an end, but rather a beginning. You have spent countless hours studying the theories and practices of organizational change and leadership. Now, it is the time to take that knowledge and put it into action by creating meaningful change in your workplaces and communities. We look forward to the many positive impacts you will make on the lives of others. Once again, I oer my heartfelt congratulations. Fight On!
ELIF ASLI YÜCELWhat Happens When You’re Free: Navigating the Nexus of Higher Education and Criminal Legal Reentry2025 D DDoctor of Philosophy, Urban Education PolicyElif Asli Yücel’s dissertation, which consists of three empirical studies, examines the growing movement of community college reentry programs in California. Specically, her dissertation looks at how these programs support formerly incarcerated students in navigating life after incarceration while simultaneously pursuing their educational aspirations. Yücel spent three years conducting interviews with students and sta in community college reentry programs across California. Her ndings demonstrate how programs provide an expansive network of support services to formerly incarcerated students and serve as an anti-carceral counterspace, honoring students’ lived experiences instead of stigmatizing them. Ultimately, Yücel’s dissertation provides a comprehensive and nuanced analysis of community college reentry programs, weaving together novel theoretical and methodological approaches that illuminate fundamental insights that will strengthen future research and policy eorts in this area.Dissertation Chairs: Royel M. Johnson and Tatiana MelguizoYücel is currently an associate learning and evaluation ocer with the ECMC Foundation.
2025 D DDoctor of Philosophy, Urban Education Policy2025 D DDoctor of Education, Educational LeadershipAFIFA ZAMANEducational Experiences and Psychosocial Well-Being of Newcomer Afghan Refugee Students in California Community CollegesAmid a growing population of Afghan refugee students in the U.S., Afa Zaman examined how California community colleges shaped their educational journeys and psychosocial well-being. Drawing from in-depth interviews with newcomer students and analysis of system-wide data on Afghan students, her dissertation illustrates how community colleges can foster a sense of agency, connection and mental wellness. At the same time, it uncovers how systemic exclusion and barriers such as misinformation, Islamophobia and xenophobia, and basic needs insecurity can deepen students’ precarity and distress. e study underscores the vital role open-access institutions play in supporting refugee-background students and calls on colleges to expand access, strengthen guidance and belonging, and provide culturally responsive support for Afghan and refugee students.Dissertation Chair: Kim HirabayashiZaman is a counseling faculty member at MiraCosta College and program manager for the Afghan Pathways Program at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
2025 D DDoctor of Education, Organizational Change and LeadershipPATRICK RICHARD RICCARDSFailing Toward Success: A Learn-From-Failure Mindset and Its Impact on Institutional Eectiveness in Higher EducationAs colleges and universities face nancial challenges and potential mergers and closures, a learn-from-failure mindset can be a potentially benecial tool on the path to recovery, stability, growth and success. is study looked at personal, behavioral and environmental factors that impact a leader’s ability to adopt this mindset. College presidents struggle with embracing a learn-from-failure mindset, identifying personal, behavioral and environmental factors that make it challenging to emphasize the value of failure on a college campus. From a personal perspective, college presidents believe they have neither the time nor the ability to embrace failure and the lessons it oers. From an environmental perspective, they fear that an embrace of a learn-from-failure mindset encourages an atmosphere where success and achievement is not prioritized. And from a behavioral perspective, they view a learn-from-failure approach as an indicator that the institution is not successful and tolerates failure across all corners of the organization. Ultimately, environmental elements have the greatest impact on how college campuses operate, according to participating college presidents, and thus pose the most robust set of challenges for a president seeking to adopt a learn-from-failure approach at their institutions.Dissertation Chair: Robert A. FilbackRiccards is the CEO for Driving Force Institute for Public Engagement.
2025 D DDoctor of Education, Organizational Change and Leadership2025 D DDoctor of Education, Organizational Change and LeadershipJAQUELINE CRUZA Gap Analysis to Find Best Practices in Philanthropy to Support California’s Community Colleges and Oer Potential Solutions to Close Performance GapsFunding for colleges and universities exceeded $50 billion in scal 2022; however, community colleges received only about $500 million, or 1% of the total philanthropic funding. Notably, the proportion of philanthropic funding allocated to community colleges has decreased by 50% nationally. is indicates that community colleges are largely overlooked by high-impact donors. From an equity perspective, this represents an important problem to solve for the 11 million students who rely on the community college system as a vehicle for economic mobility. Jaqueline Cruz conducted a mixed-method study on California Community Colleges (CCC) to identify the factors contributing to successful fundraising. e outcome of her dissertation is a logic model designed to enhance fundraising success for California Community Colleges, accompanied by evidence-based recommendations. e logic model provides a road map and practical implementation strategies for the California Community College System. Cruz is now working to implement the logic model she designed in her dissertation to support the Community College system and the millions of students it serves.Dissertation Chair: Dennis HocevarCruz is the vice president, oce of institutional advancement and executive director of the Hartnell College Foundation.
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