California Attorney General Rob Bonta will deliver the keynote address at San Francisco State University’s 124th Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 23, at Oracle Park. 

The University will also award honorary doctoral degrees to Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Tommy Orange and activist, physician and minister Ramona Tascoe (B.A., ’70). A posthumous honorary doctoral degree will be given to author and beloved SFSU History Professor Dawn Mabalon. 

Doors at Oracle Park open at 3:30 p.m. The graduate procession begins at 5:30 p.m., with Commencement starting at 6:30 p.m. Fireworks will close out the event at about 9:30 p.m.

Live updates and photos from the ceremony will be posted to the University’s X, Instagram and Facebook accounts. Graduates and guests can tag their Commencement posts on social media using the hashtag #SFSU2025.

Commencement information is available via the SFSU mobile app. Once you’ve downloaded the University’s mobile app, visit “SFSU’s 2025 Commencement Ceremony, See More Ceremony Info.” Be sure to opt in to the University’s Commencement reminders by selecting “Manage Commencement Alerts” to receive push notifications. Details are also available on the Commencement website.

On April 23, 2021, Rob Bonta was sworn in as the 34th attorney general of California, the first person of Filipino descent and the second Asian American to occupy the position.

Bonta’s passion for justice and fairness was instilled in him by his parents, who served on the front lines of some of America’s most important social justice movements. Instilling in him the lessons they learned from the United Farm Workers and the civil rights movement, Bonta’s parents lit a fire inside him to fight against injustice — to stand up for those who are taken advantage of or harmed. It’s why he decided to become a lawyer — to help right historic wrongs and fight for people who have been harmed. He worked his way through college, graduated with honors from Yale University and attended Yale Law School.

In the State Assembly, Bonta enacted nation-leading reforms to inject more justice and fairness into government and institutions. As attorney general, he sees seeking accountability from those who abuse their power and harm others as one of the most important functions of the job. In elected office, he has taken on powerful interests and advanced systemic change — pursuing corporate accountability, standing up for workers, punishing big polluters and fighting racial injustice.

He has been a national leader in the fight to transform the criminal justice system, banning private prisons and detention facilities in California, as well as pushing to eliminate cash bail in the state. He has led statewide fights for racial, economic and environmental justice and worked to further the rights of immigrant families, renters and other working Californians.

Prior to serving in the Assembly, Attorney General Bonta worked as a deputy city attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, where he represented the city and county and its employees and fought to protect Californians from exploitation and racial profiling.

Born in Quezon City, Philippines, Bonta immigrated to California with his family as an infant. He is the son of a proud native Filipina mother and a father who taught him the value of public service to his community. He is married to Mia Bonta, and they are the proud parents of three children: Reina, Iliana and Andres.

Dawn Bohulano Mabalon was the premier historian of Filipino American studies and is believed to be the first Filipina American to earn a Ph.D. in American History from Stanford University. Prior to that she received her B.A. in History with a specialization in Asian American Studies in 1994 and her M.A. in Asian American Studies in 1997 from the University of California, Los Angeles.

In her 2013 award-winning book “Little Manila Is in the Heart: The Making of the Filipina/o American Community in Stockton, California,” she examined the rich and vibrant community in which she grew up and where her family continues to live. She also left behind the children’s book “Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong,” co-written with Gayle Romasanta and illustrated by Andre Sibayan. The book, published posthumously, chronicles the life of Filipino farm labor activist Larry Itliong.

Along with academic contributions, she was the co-founder and board member of the Little Manila Foundation, where she worked for the preservation and revitalization of the Little Manila Historic Site in Stockton. Through her visionary work and leadership, the foundation saved historic buildings from demolition in 2003, and she inspires a generation of youth in her hometown who will continue her legacy.

In 2004, Mabalon joined the SFSU History Department faculty. Students loved her classes, where they not only learned to love history but they came to love learning. Through her dynamic lectures and interactive discussions, her witty humor and commentary and the food she cooked and baked for her students, she touched hearts, minds and stomachs.

In Mabalon’s last statement, she wrote, “I am an historian dedicated to building bridges between the communities about whom I write (Filipino Americans, Asian Americans, immigrants, workers) and the academy. I have devoted my life’s work to sharing the stories of people and communities at the margins of the American story. … With the humanities and history disciplines under attack, there is no better time to strengthen the work we do as professional historians.” 

Mabalon is remembered for the love for Filipina/o America that guided her work and her life. She was a respected historian, author, filmmaker, poet, chef, baker, community leader and activist who leaves behind a far-reaching legacy, grounded in love.

Tommy Orange is the New York Times-bestselling author of the 2018 novel “There There” (Alfred A. Knopf), a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His debut novel chronicled the fictional lives of urban Native Americans living in Oakland. In doing so, his book challenged the monolithic image of Native people. “There There” is a constellation of narratives of 12 characters whose lives all converge at an Oakland powwow and explores themes of identity, authenticity and Native history.

His latest novel, “Wandering Stars,” longlisted for the Booker Prize, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in February 2024. This novel, a continuation of his first, follows three generations of a family all the way back to the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and later to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. His book examines the impact of colonization and forced assimilation through his characters.

His novels have been recognized by several organizations. “There There” won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and was shortlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.

In 2019, he was honored by SFSU’s Department of Creative Writing with the Gina Berriault Award. The award, named after the late author and beloved faculty member, is given to writers who embody Berriault’s love of storytelling and commitment to supporting emerging writers.

In 2004, Orange received his undergraduate degree in sound engineering from Ex’pression College of Digital Arts in Emeryville. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe in 2016. He’s currently a faculty member there.

Orange lives in Oakland with his wife and two sons.

Ramona Tascoe came to SFSU to pursue a special triple major in Political Science, Sociology and Psychology. But as a result of her fearless commitment to her ideals, she also became an essential part of the University’s enduring legacy. 

In 1967, Tascoe took part in campus protests after George Murray, a graduate student and part-time English instructor, was suspended because of his activism and outspoken support for equity and accuracy in higher education. Among the protestors’ demands: that the University rehire Murray and create a Black Studies Department. 

The protests grew into the historic student strike of 1968 that would eventually lead to the creation of the College of Ethnic Studies. But before that victory, there were many intense confrontations — and in the midst of one of them, Tascoe became the first of the student protesters to be arrested. 

That was a courageous development for a young woman whose protective father often told her, “Don’t talk race … assimilate.” Born in Louisiana, where “Jim Crow” was not a stranger, Tascoe moved with her family to the more hopeful horizons of San Francisco in 1953. Despite her father’s advice, Tascoe joined the rapidly emerging Black Student Union, found her voice and grabbed the baton of civil rights and social justice. In the years since, she’s continued to forge her own independent path. 

Tascoe earned her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco in 1979. And she wasn’t done with higher education there: She later earned both a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Divinity degree from Berkeley’s Graduate Theological Union, after which she was dually ordained under the American Baptist and Progressive National Baptist ministries. 

Though she’s practiced as an internal medicine specialist in Oakland for decades, Tascoe has also put her unique mix of skills to work on behalf of communities around the world. She’s led medical missions to Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, India and Sri Lanka. And she’s worked extensively with Haiti’s Ministry of Health and the University General Hospital of Haiti, that nation’s largest public hospital. 

In 2018, she was SFSU’s Commencement speaker and urged students to put their passions into action. “I call on each of you to actively care about a cause, commit to a cure, devote your time, your talent and your treasure in good conscience and with courage,” she said. “Because our nation cannot survive on passive citizenship.”

Over the course of nearly 50 years in practice, Tascoe has profoundly impacted the lives of countless individuals and communities by gently illuminating that healing is not merely a science or an art — it is both. She reminds us that within every human experience, there exists a sacred balance between biology and belief, physics and faith, seen and unseen.