Ceremonies to be Held May 10, 11 Feature Graduating Seniors as Event Speakers

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Android co-founder Rich Miner, a three-time UMass Lowell graduate whose generosity launched the university’s school of computer science in his name, will receive an honorary degree in the 2024 UMass Lowell Commencement.

05/01/2024

Emily Gowdey-Backus, director of media relations; and Nancy Cicco, assistant director of media relations
Android co-founder Rich Miner, a three-time UMass Lowell graduate whose generosity launched the university’s school of computer science in his name, will receive an honorary degree from the institution during a weekend of Commencement exercises at the university’s Tsongas Center beginning Friday, May 10, and closing Saturday, May 11.
Keynote speakers at each of three ceremonies – the first on Friday for master’s and doctoral degree candidates, and two on Saturday for bachelor’s degree candidates – will be graduates about to receive their diplomas who exemplify the UMass Lowell experience. 
An estimated 4,565 students from 36 U.S. states and 106 countries will graduate in the Class of 2024. Among them are 775 undergraduate students who are the first in their family to attend college. UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen will address the graduates at these events, where a variety of awards to honorees will be presented. The schedule follows below:
Friday, May 10 at 10 a.m.
WHO: UMass Lowell master’s and doctoral candidates will receive their degrees. Speakers and honored guests will include:
  • Commencement student speaker Abigail Drezek of Cumberland, Rhode Island, a physical therapy doctoral candidate and outstanding student-athlete who received her bachelor of exercise science degree from UMass Lowell in 2021 
  • Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Janis Raguin ’92, a UMass Lowell education graduate who taught in elementary school before becoming a licensed mental health counselor 
Saturday, May 11, morning ceremony at 9 a.m.
WHO: UMass Lowell bachelor’s candidates in the Francis College of Engineering, Kennedy College of Sciences and Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences will receive their degrees. Speakers and honored guests will include:
  • Honorary degree recipient Rich Miner ’86, ’89, ’97, tech entrepreneur and a co-founder of the Android operating system, who received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in computer science from UMass Lowell and is the founding benefactor of the university’s Richard A. Miner School of Computer and Information Sciences in the Kennedy College of Sciences 
  • Commencement student speaker Archange Lombo of Worcester, Massachusetts, a computer engineering major and native of the Democratic Republic of Congo who served as president of the university’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers  
  • Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Rick Hoeske ’66, an industrial management graduate and retired vice president of engineering of NyPro Inc.
  • Chancellor’s Medal for Outstanding University Support recipient Philip Sisson, president of Middlesex Community College
  • Chancellor’s Medal for Public Service and Civic Engagement recipient Karen Frederick, chief executive officer of Community Teamwork, Inc. 
  • The Chancellor’s Medal for Public Service and Civic Engagement will be awarded posthumously to Carol Duncan, a past executive director of Girls Inc. of Greater Lowell, and will be accepted by her husband, George Duncan
Saturday, May 11, afternoon ceremony at 2 p.m.
WHO: UMass Lowell bachelor’s candidates in the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the Manning School of Business will receive their degrees. Speakers and honored guests will include:
  • Commencement student speaker Cassidy DeMalia of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, a criminal justice major who founded and served as president of the university’s Legal Studies Society
  • Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Lorna Boucher ’86, a business graduate who is the chief marketing and communications officer of Wall Street trading venue Imperative Execution
  • U.S. Air Force Col. Taona Enriquez, Hanscom Air Force Base commander of the 66th Air Base Group, accepting a Chancellor’s Medal for Outstanding University Support on behalf of the Massachusetts military installation
  • Chancellor’s Medal for Public Service and Civic Engagement recipient Yun-Ju Choi, chief executive officer of Lowell’s Coalition for a Better Acre
For updates and the full schedule of Commencement events, please visit www.uml.edu/commencement.
WHERE: Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lowell, Massachusetts. Members of the media interested in attending any of these events are asked to contact Emily_GowdyBackus@uml.edu or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu. 

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