The Commencement Eve celebration honored those receiving awards at Commencement and also raised money for scholarships. From left, President Jack M. Wilson, Commencement speaker Harold Ford Jr., George Duncan, Chaz Maviyane-Davies, Bernard Amadei, Kathleen Beaumont Allen ’77, Robert Pozen and Chancellor Marty Meehan ’78.

The University raised more than $275,000 for student scholarships at the Commencement Eve Celebration on Friday, May 29 – one of the largest amounts ever raised through a single event on campus. Close to 300 guests honored 20 student-award winners and heard short talks by the University’s Commencement speaker, Harold Ford Jr., the four honorary degree award recipients and the Distinguished Alumni Award winner at the Allen House reception.

The money raised through sponsorships and ticket sales will go to the UMass Lowell Scholars Fund, which assists students with tuition and other financial needs.

Honorary Degree Recipient Bernard Amadei accepted his award on behalf of the 12,000 members of the organization he founded, Engineers Without Borders – USA. The group uses engineering solutions to address “the fundamental problems on this planet."

“Engineers have something that politicians don’t have. We do things that are really concrete,” said Amadei. “I do believe it is our turn, as engineers, to make this world a better place. It is our turn to be peacemakers. ... When people have something in common, believe me, magic happens.”

George Duncan, founding chairman of Enterprise Bank, echoed the importance of making a difference in the world.

“One of the most memorable recognitions our company received was we were named No. 1 in Massachusetts with the highest number of volunteer hours per employee,” said Duncan, who noted that 16 percent of Enterprises’ current employees are UMass Lowell graduates. “That says our organization is contributing something to society, other than just reaching the elusive next goal or production schedule. When you boil it down, it’s all about getting involved, performing community service, mentoring others and contributing with the idea of making a difference,” he said.

Graphic designer Chaz Maviyane-Davies, a native of Zimbabwe and now a professor at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, talked about being blacklisted several years after his country won its independence because of his criticism of the new government. His work takes on issues of consumerism, health, nutrition, social responsibility, the environment and human rights.

“While design alone can’t change the world, designers can choose to be active or passive in what they do, regardless of their ideology,” he said. “For me, design is a weapon. If it can be used to sell jeans or perfume, then it can be used to fight for a more just democracy and political wisdom.”

Robert Pozen, the chairman of MFS Investment Management, offered the students six life lessons, including: seek out and become mentors, make clear what your values are, and learn to learn for yourself “because in this world, that’s what you have to do."

“Every problem has an opportunity built in. In my experience, if you are in a situation where there is a lot of flux, where the big guys have really taken a big fall, you’d be surprised how much opportunity there is,” he said.

Distinguished Alumni Award winner Kathleen Beaumont Allen offered her own words of wisdom to the students in the audience.

“My advice to you is to find a problem that resonates in your heart, invest the energy to pursue it and lead that change,” said Allen ’77, the retired CFO of Millipore. She also praised the donors who helped the University raise so much money for scholarships through the Commencement Eve event.

“You are helping to ensure that future student scholars, like those here tonight, are given a voice and a chance to improve our world by leading change,” she said.

Commencement Speaker Harold Ford Jr., former congressman from Tennessee and current chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, talked about his experience as a 26-year-old first-time candidate, speaking at the only events where he could get a speaking invitation – preschool and kindergarten graduations. That experience, which turned out to be very helpful in reaching out to the parents and grandparents of the youngsters, showed him the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity.

“This moment you find yourselves in is fraught with a lot of challenge, but also full of a lot of opportunity,” said Ford. “If there was ever a group of graduates on the face of the earth that has been taught and informed and given the gift of not only knowledge, but of passion and compassion, and an ability to do anything, it is you.”

Chancellor Marty Meehan praised each of the speakers for showing why they deserved to be honored.

“One of the reasons we wanted to do this dinner, in addition to raising money for scholarships, was because I felt that often the University community didn’t get a sense of how outstanding the honorary degree recipients are. I want to say that I am totally impressed with them tonight,” said Meehan.

John F. Kennedy ’70, chairman of the Commencement Eve Host Committee, highlighted the students in attendance, who were honored for their leadership and service to the community and on campus, as well as academic achievement.

“More than anything else, these students represent why we are here tonight,” said Kennedy. “For many, the scholarships they received made a difference in how involved they could become in student life, how much time they could devote to their studies, and whether they could achieve the success we celebrate tonight.”

Students honored were:

• Chancellor’s Medal for Student Service: Sarah Brassard, exercise physiology, Oxford; Abbey Denaro, exercise physiology, North Reading; Coreen Edward, political science, Boston; Krista Perry, English, Seekonk; Colleen Phelan, environmental health, Lynn; Ruben Pascal Sanca, business administration, Boston.
• University Medal for Community Service: Shannon Corcoran, nursing, Tyngsboro; Melissa Dorval, creative writing, Shirley; Paul Litchfield, accounting and finance, Burlington; Amy Musgrave, civil/environmental engineering, Chelmsford; Michael S. Peeples, business administration, Lowell.
• University Scholar-Athlete Award: Bridgette Hooker, nursing, Belmont.
• Chancellor’s Medal for Academic Achievement (presented by each college): Jayne L. Allen, psychology, Tewksbury (College of Arts and Sciences Division of Humanities and Social Sciences); Nicole Ananian, fine arts, Newburyport (College of Arts and Sciences Division of Fine Arts); Brian Foley, electrical engineering, Billerica (College of Engineering); John Fuex, Elgin, Texas, information technology (College of Arts and Sciences Division of Sciences); Sally Ann Herlihy, Hampstead, N.H., liberal arts (College of Arts and Scineces, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences); Melissa Smithurst, health education/community health, Sandown, N.H. (School of Health and Environment); Vinayta Vijay, clinical lab sciences, (School of Health and Environment); Cindy Ann Wilson, Chelmsford (College of Management). Smithurst and Vijay are co-valedictorians of the Class of 2009.

The Charles Carroll Scholarship Endowment Fund, named after the outgoing dean of the Division of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, also was announced.

Watch a video of the evening's festivities here.

- Kristen_OReilly