Boeing chief to be UCI grad speaker

Most years, UC Irvine's various schools rarely choose high profile figures to deliver a commencement speech. That won't be the case this year for UCI's Paul Merage School of Business. Jim Albaugh, executive vice president of The Boeing Company, will be the keynote speaker for about 350 MBA students on June 13 at Bren Events Center.

Andy Policano, the business school's dean, says in a statement, "The Merage School has strong, long-standing ties with The Boeing Company and it is our honor to have Jim Albaugh present at our commencement ceremony. Jim is an outstanding leader and role model."

Policano says that more than 150 Merage graduates work for Boeing, the huge defense and aerospace contractor whose Southern California holdings include plants in Huntington Beach, Seal Beach and Anaheim. Albaugh has spent a lot of time working in Orange County, particularly on space and communications programs, as well as integrated defense.