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Commencement 2010: By the numbers

We take a calculated look at the emotional event – and at UCI's past academic year

Daniel A. Anderson / University Communications

A participant in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences graduation in 2009 adjusts his tassel and flowers. (Click image for a slide show of 2010 Department of Education commencement.)

UC Irvine’s 2010 commencement season is upon us. It’s the time of year when the campus buzzes with activity, as family members and friends proudly watch excited graduates transition to the next phase of their lives amid pomp and circumstance. Education and medicine have already conferred degrees, with the remaining schools holding their ceremonies June 11, 12 and 13. Here, courtesy of the Office of Student Affairs, are a few facts and figures.

• 60,000: approximate visits on UCI’s commencement website, with Web stream, ceremonies and directions/parking the top subjects, in order
• 38,000: estimated guests attending the 12 commencement ceremonies

• 17,000: estimated cars parked over three days
• 11,116: estimated photos taken of graduates during ceremonies
• 8,000: programs distributed
• 7,900: students walking
• 3,000: estimated flowers/leis bought for graduates at ceremonies
• 900: approximate doughnuts consumed by staff
• 320: scripts printed for platform parties and staff
• 200: platform party members
• 172: parking attendants
• 105: students receiving medical degrees
• 62: UCI commencement banners hung around campus
• 35: headsets used for event staff communication
• 1: 2010 graduate receiving a Fulbright Scholarship (Michelle Tsai, psychology & social behavior and criminology, law & society double major)
• 1: Nobel laureate attending
• Untold: tears of joy

It was a year of unprecedented student scholarship, faculty achievement, spirited advocacy and heartfelt philanthropy – not to mention the amazing day-to-day business of running the campus. Here are some numerical highlights of 2009-10.

• 1 million-plus: visitor parking permits sold
• 300,000: patrons visiting the Bren Events Center
• 115,000: volumes added to UCI Libraries’ collection, including 55,000 e-books
• 80,000: ice bags used by athletic trainers
• 54,000: periodical subscriptions in UCI Libraries
• 9,916: vehicles parked on campus at any one time during a weekday
• 5,334: Free H1N1 flu vaccinations given to eligible faculty, staff and students
• 2,600: daily OCTA bus commuters
• 1,287: Seasonal flu vaccinations given
• 120: student organizations with booths at the annual Wayzgoose Medieval Faire
• 102: copies sold of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, the top-selling title at the UCI Bookstore
• 28: miles of athletic tape used by trainers
• 19: students receiving National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, a 375 percent increase over last year
• 3: newly elected members of the National Academy of Sciences (Michael Cahalan, Greg Duncan and Susan Trumbore)
• 2: giant anteaters put on public display at the Santa Ana Zoo
• 1: Templeton Prize recipient (Francisco J. Ayala)

— University Communications