NOTE: This web page is archived for the Class of 2005. To see the Commencement site for this year's class, click here.

Fact Sheet

Commencement weekend activities at the University of Massachusetts Amherst include a ceremony for undergraduates Sunday, May 22 and separate ceremonies Saturday, May 21 for the Graduate School and the Stockbridge School.

135th Undergraduate Commencement - May 22

At the 135th Undergraduate Commencement at Warren P. McGuirk Alumni Stadium from 10 a.m. to noon, approximately 4,000 graduates will receive their bachelor's degrees.

Chancellor John V. Lombardi and President Jack M. Wilson will offer brief remarks, and graduating senior Adina Giannelli of Canton will be the student speaker.

Honorary Degrees

Two honorary degrees will be awarded to alumnus Douglas Berthiaume, an Andover business executive, and alumnus and former UMass Trustee Heriberto Flores of Springfield. Berthiaume is chairman and CEO of the Water Corporation in Milford, a high-technology firm serving the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He is a 1971 graduate of the Isenberg School of Management. Flores is executive director of the New England Farm Workers' Council, a private, non-profit agency serving seasonal and migrant farm workers and their families. He earned two degrees from UMass Amherst.

21st Century Leaders

Fourteen graduating seniors will be honored as 21st Century Leaders. This is the third year of the awards sponsored by the Chancellor's Office and the UMass Amherst Alumni Association. The presentation of the senior awards during the undergraduate Commencement highlights the accomplishments of students and recognizes the support received from their families. “Commencement recognizes our students, celebrates their achievements, recognizes exemplary student performance, and honors outstanding alumni and friends of the University,” says Lombardi. “It's also an opportunity to congratulate students, families, and friends at the post-Commencement reception.”

Chancellor's Reception for Graduates and Families

A reception for graduates and their families hosted by the chancellor will take place immediately following the ceremony, under a tent in the southeast corner of the stadium. Lombardi will greet graduates and pose for photographs. Punch and cookies will be served.

Graduate School Commencement - May 21

The Graduate School commencement event is May 21 at 10:30 a.m. at the Mullins Center where approximately 1,200 candidates will receive master's and doctoral degrees.

John R. Mullin, dean of the Graduate School, will offer a welcome. Lombardi and Wilson will deliver brief remarks.

Honorary Degrees

Two honorary degrees will be awarded to Dell Hathaway Hymes and Robert L. Gluckstern. Hymes is an emeritus Commonwealth professor of English and anthropology at the University of Virginia whose principal area of research and scholarship has been the language, culture and folklore of Native Americans. Gluckstern is a former UMass provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, professor and head of the department of physics and astronomy, and president emeritus and former chancellor at the University of Maryland, College Park .

Stockbridge School Commencement - May 21

Approximately 100 candidates will receive associate of science degrees from the Stockbridge School at a 2 p.m. ceremony in Bowker Auditorium.

Keynote Speaker

The keynote speaker will be Geoffrey Cornish, a UMass alumnus and renowned golf course architect. Nancy Garrabrants, director of the Stockbridge School, will give brief opening remarks.

Additional Events

Saturday, May 21:

• Phi Beta Kappa Installation
  Campus Center Auditorium, 1:30 p.m.
• School of Nursing Pinning and Hooding Celebration
  Fine Arts Center, 2 p.m.
• Army/Air Force ROTC Joint Commissioning Ceremony
  Bowker Auditorium, 5 p.m.

Other Commencement-related events occurring prior to May 21-22 include the Commonwealth College Celebration of Excellence at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 7 at the Mullins Center, and the annual Commencement Ball at 9 p.m. Friday, May 20 in the Student Union Ballroom.

• Full schedule of departmental events related to Commencement