The University is gearing up to congratulate the graduating class of 2008 on Saturday, May 31.
This year, for the first time, the University will host a reception and dinner on the night before commencement during which the honorary degree recipients, a distinguished alumnus and student award recipients will be acknowledged.
Attendees are invited to join Chancellor Marty Meehan, commencement speaker U.S. Sen. John Kerry and the honored guests at the dinner, which will be held on Friday, May 30, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Allen House on Solomont Way on UML South.
The honorary degree recipients are Gururaj “Desh”Deshpande, co-founder and chairman of Sycamore Networks Inc.; Charlayne Hunter-Gault, an award-winning journalist whose career spans more than four decades; Mary Jo Leahey, a 1937 graduate of the College of Music at the State Teachers College at Lowell, one of the University’s predecessor institutions; Gerald Martone ’79, director of Humanitarian Affairs at the International Rescue Committee; and Edward O. Wilson, professor emeritus at Harvard University, where he taught for four decades and received both of its college-wide teaching awards.
“We are honored to have such a distinguished group of honorees this year,” says Meehan. “The honorary degree recipients represent the very best – some who have received the highest honors in their respective fields as well as some of our most exceptional alumni who offer a wonder example of the impact that UMass Lowell can have on someone’s life.”
The University will honor Thomas O’Connor, president and CEO of DCP Midstream, with the Distinguished Alumni Award. O’Connor, who holds a bachelor’s degree in biological science and a master’s degree in environmental science from the University, has created two endowed funds at UML.
The commencement exercises will begin at 10 a.m. on May 31, at the Tsongas Arena. Some 2,000 graduates will receive bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.
In a change from recent years, the names of all graduates will be called at the ceremony. Following the general commencement, individual colleges will host receptions for graduating students and their guests.
Tickets for the Friday night event, which also serves as a scholarship fundraiser, are $100 per person. Proceeds will go to the Chancellor Martin T. Meehan Educational Excellence Fund for student scholarships. To order tickets, contact Emily_Byrne@uml.edu at (978) 934-4808.
If you cannot attend, you can still give to the endowment. (Note: In the "Contribution For" drop-down please choose the "Chancellor Martin T. Meehan Educational Excellence Endowment Fund).
For complete commencement information, visit the University's new Commencement website.
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