Law Celebration of Spirit & Excellence, Friday, May 23, 2025 2:00 p.m. in Adobe Lodge (Invite Only)
Law Liturgy, Friday, May 23, 2025, 4:00 p.m. in the Mission Church
Reception immediately following in Locatelli Center and Lawn
Commencement Speaker, Santa Clara University School of Law Class of 2025
J.D., Santa Clara University School of Law
Howard S. Charney is a distinguished leader in innovation, technology, and education, known for his transformative work in the tech industry and his unwavering commitment to advancing both business and legal education. A recently retired senior vice president at Cisco, Charney has played a pivotal role in shaping the global internet infrastructure through the development of groundbreaking technologies such as Fast Ethernet and low-cost switching.
Charney co-founded 3Com, a pioneering company that was integral to the development of Ethernet and wired local area networking (LAN) technology, both of which enabled Internet access to the desktop–and later founded Grand Junction Networks, which was acquired by Cisco in 1995. Throughout his career, he has been at the forefront of advising businesses, governments, and educational institutions worldwide on how to harness critical technologies to improve productivity and competitiveness. His leadership helped grow Cisco’s two-tier distribution business to over $2.4 billion and revolutionized networking technologies that underpin the modern Internet.
A passionate advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration, Charney is currently a distinguished professor of innovation at Santa Clara University School of Law, where he has been a longtime supporter and donor. In 2018, he was honored with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Santa Clara University in recognition of his contributions to both the tech industry and legal education. Recognizing the vital role that legal education played in his own successful business and engineering endeavors, Charney and his wife, Alida, have continued to advance the law school’s mission through their generosity to support student scholarships and the development of a new law school building at Santa Clara University–the Howard S. and Alida S. Charney Hall of Law–designed to foster collaboration between law, business, and engineering students.
Attire
How do I obtain Academic Attire?
The SCU Bronco Bookstore rents Academic Attire for law graduates. Graduates will be notified via the Grad Newsletter when regalia is ready for pick up. Please note, that gowns must be returned to the bookstore in the days following commencement. Failure to do so will result in a delay/hold of receipt of your diploma.
How do I obtain regalia accessories?
All cords and stoles, except Honors Cords and JD/MBA stoles, are purchased and provided by Law Student Organizations (you may contact your representative for more information). Honors Cords will be given to eligible students upon check-in on Commencement day.
The red Santa Clara University stole is optional for law graduates and available for purchase from the Bronco Bookstore.
Event Media
View commencement photos on Santa Clara Law’s Flickr.
Contact
Official commencement announcements are sent directly to graduates’ SCU email accounts. All students are responsible for checking their SCU email accounts for updates.
Questions? Email the Law Commencement Team at lawgraduation@scu.edu.