Commencement

Explore the 2025 Commencement Ceremony

Commencement Livestream

Otis College's 2025 Commencement ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 11, 2025, at the Marsee Auditorium at El Camino College in Torrance, CA.

Guest Information

Ceremony Information

Date: Sunday, May 11, 2025
Location: Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College
Address: 16007 Crenshaw Blvd, Torrance, CA 90506
Ceremony Time: 12:00 pm - 2:00pm (PST)

Ceremony Guidelines

Commencement begins at 12:00 p.m. sharp. The ceremony will last approximately 2 hours. There is no reception following the ceremony. After the ceremony adjourns, all graduates will be asked to exit the Marsee Auditorium to allow for the staff to clean up the space.
Cameras are allowed; please note, we are required by the theater venue to have the aisles remain clear at all times. A professional photographer will take a picture of each graduate as they cross the stage. Students will be able to order copies of photos from the photographer.
During the ceremony, graduates and guests should refrain from excessive talking, cheering, use of noisemakers, and any other distractions that take away from the dignity of the ceremony.

Tickets

Each graduating student will be eligible to receive up to 6 tickets for guests to attend Commencement. All guest tickets are assigned seating and will be based on time of submission of the Commencement Participation Form.

Additional ticket availability will be based on how many tickets are reserved through the Commencement Participation Form. The deadline for every student to complete their Commencement Participation Form is April 14, 2025. Information on availability of extra tickets will be shared on April 21, 2025. You can not reserve additional tickets prior to April 21, 2025.

Information on reserving tickets will be shared at the end of the beginning of Spring 2025 with all graduating students
Meet Otis College’s 2024 Honorary Degree Recipients

Parking

All guests MUST park at 'Lot H' at El Camino College. Parking is FREE and does not require a permit. Once you arrive to Lot H, please park starting on Level 2 and above. Those who need accessible parking and have approved documentation, can park in the accessible parking spots on the first floor of Lot H.

View El Camino College's Map

General Guest Information

All guests must have a ticket in order to enter the Commencement venue.
Guest seating will open at 11:30 a.m. All guest seating is assigned by the venue (some seats are in a balcony with stair access only). No saving seats will be allowed.
Wheelchair access is available and a sign-language interpreter will be at the program. All accommodation requests need to be made through the Commencement Participation Form.

As learned from the previous years, the event is subject to change and we will be sure to keep folks updated. Please be on the look out for more information in the upcoming months.

Otis College has a long standing tradition of awarding honorary degrees to influential artists, designers, and thinkers. This year, we are thrilled to announce that acclaimed visual artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby will receive an honorary degree and deliver this year’s commencement address. Los Angeles–based architect and urban planner Janet Marie Smith will also be awarded an honorary degree during the ceremony.

Held on Sunday, May 12, 2024, the commencement ceremony is the culmination of O-Launch, the College’s end-of-year celebration of graduating students that includes a campus-wide annual exhibition and fashion show, taking place May 10-11.

2024 Honorary Degree Recipients

Njideka Akunyili Crosby

Akunyili Crosby is known for work that “negotiates the cultural terrain between her adopted home in America and her native Nigeria, creating collage and photo transfer-based paintings that expose the challenge of occupying these two worlds” (The Smithsonian). Akunyili Crosby graduated in 2004 from Swarthmore College, where she studied art and biology as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow. After considering a future in medicine, she decided to pursue art so she could share her experience as a Nigerian of the diaspora through her work. Akunyili Crosby received her MFA from Yale University School of Fine Art in 2011 and was selected as artist-in-residence at the highly regarded Studio Museum in Harlem, which is known for its support of emerging African artists. In 2015, the Hammer Museum at UCLA presented her first solo exhibition. That same year her work was exhibited at Art + Practice in Los Angeles. In 2016, Akunyili Crosby was named one of the Women of the Year by Financial Times and in 2017 she was awarded the prestigious Genius Grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In 2023, Akunyili Crosby was the Mandy and Cliff Einstein Visiting Artist at Otis College, where she spent time in dialogue with Otis students and delivered a free public lecture.

Janet Marie Smith

Smith is Executive Vice President of Planning and Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers and founder of Canopy, a consulting business built around civic sports and urban development. The Dodgers are one of four MLB teams that has been proud to call her an executive of the club, one of the first women in such a senior front office position. Trained as an architect and urban planner, she is renowned for her influence on the last generation of sports and entertainment venues and their relationships to their respective cities. She has overseen the design, renovation, and development for major league baseball parks in Baltimore, Atlanta, Boston, and Los Angeles. With her role in the creation of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in 1992, Smith ushered in a new way of thinking about sports with a focus on urban design, architecture, and graphic design. Camden Yards featured elements drawn from the classic era of ballparks while incorporating modern elements and building techniques. The Dodgers’ renovations have celebrated the mid-century modern styles that were crafted in Southern California. Smith earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Mississippi State University and a master’s degree in urban planning from The City University of New York. Prior to her work in baseball, she led and managed several civic projects in Los Angeles and New York. In 2019, Smith was named one the “30 Most Powerful Women in Sports” by AdWeek.