School of Nursing honors graduates and certificate recipients at commencement

The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis celebrated the Classes of 2025 and 2026 during commencement June 11 at the Mondavi Center in Davis.

UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May conferred degrees as graduates, certificate recipients, faculty, staff, family members and supporters gathered to mark the milestone.

This year's graduating classes and certificate awardees included:

• 44 students receiving master's degrees in nursing (whose program concluded in December)
• 63 future physician assistants
• 17 graduates earning Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees as family nurse practitioners
• six graduates receiving Doctor of Philosophy degrees and
• 41 nurse practitioners awarded certificates to provide mental health services.

"This ceremony also comes during an important moment in the history of our school. This year, we are celebrating 15 Years: Shaping What's Next in Health Care," said Stephen Cavanagh, dean of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. "Fifteen years ago, this school's first classes arrived to fulfill a bold idea - attracted to a new kind of health professions school, one rooted in leadership, research, collaboration and bold system change."

Graduates enter healthcare at a time of need

Standing before hundreds in attendance, Cavanagh traced the school's growth since its first students arrived in 2010. At the time, the school had two programs, 33 students and no alumni. Today, its graduates serve in clinics, hospitals, communities, classrooms, labs and leadership roles across the healthcare spectrum.

Cavanagh told graduates they are entering a field shaped by workforce shortages, unequal access to care, rising complexity and fast-changing technology. The multiple challenges, he added, create a need for leaders who can think clearly, collaborate and keep people at the center of care.

He directed comments to each of the five groups of graduates, noting how they are being called to care for patients and families, expand access to primary and mental health services, improve complex healthcare settings and advancing nursing science through research.

Students honored for school values

The ceremony also recognized five students selected by their peers for best exemplifying the school's defining qualities. The School of Nursing cultivates academic excellence and addresses urgent social needs through five core attributes: community connection, diversity and inclusion, leadership, innovative solutions and collaboration.

The student award recipients were:

• Aesara Rhys - Master's Entry Program in Nursing
• Margaret Walsh - Physician Assistant Studies Degree
• Ashley Balletto - Doctor of Nursing Practice - Family Nurse Practitioner
• Aron King - Doctor of Philosophy
• Sarah Dulaney - UC Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate Program

As the ceremony closed, Cavanagh urged graduates to recognize their degrees as more than a sign of their achievement.

"As you leave here today, remember that your degree is not simply recognition of what you have achieved. It is a call to what you can contribute," Cavanagh said. "Lead with compassion. Lead with curiosity. Lead with courage."

He then reminded graduates that they represent an important part of the school's history.

"Through your leadership, compassion, research and service," Cavanagh said, "you will help build healthier communities and a more equitable future for those you serve."

Read these profiles of a few new graduates:

From wait list to emergency department: New RN finds where he belongs

From an 8-year-old's promise to a doctorate rooted in home

For UC Davis nursing graduate, mental health care is part of whole-person care

First-generation PA student turns lived experience into purpose

Nursing graduate receives UC Davis Young Alumni Award