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News and Announcements

  • Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman and CEO of American Express, will Deliver Keynote Address at Undergraduate Commencement

    Undergraduate Commencement at UMass Amherst will feature a keynote address by Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express Company, to the 5,500 graduates and their families and friends.Chenault will also receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the ceremony. Chenault joined American Express in 1981 and became president and chief operating officer in 1997. He assumed his current responsibilities as CEO in 2001, and later that year became chairman.

    Chenault serves on the board of corporate and nonprofit organizations including IBM, Procter & Gamble, the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, the National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the Smithsonian Institution’s Advisory Council for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and the Bloomberg Family Foundation. He is also a member of the Business Council and serves on the Executive Committee of the Business Roundtable.

  • Carry an International Flag in the Commencement Processional

    Commencement 2013 will continue the tradition of including a parade of international flags for the countries represented by graduating international students.Students who have participated in the processional in past years have been thrilled with the enthusiastic welcome they receive from their classmates and guests.If you would like to take part in the processional on Friday, May 10, 2013, at 5:00 p.m. by carrying the flag of your country, please contact Terry Sall at tsall@admin.umass.edu by May 3, 2013.

    Graduates carry the flags into the stadium at the beginning of the commencement ceremony, place the flags in special stands on the field, then join their classmates for the remainder of the ceremony. If you have questions, please call Terry at 413-545-4894.  If more than one person volunteers to do this for the same country, the first request will be accepted as the flag carrier, and others may march beside the flag carrier.

  • Award-Winning UMass Dining

    Enjoy a celebratory dinner in our all-you-care-to-eat Dining Commons. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be available at our stunning, award-winning Berkshire Dining Commons in the Southwest Residential Area.  Families of graduating students currently on a UMass meal plan may join their student for complimentary meals. All other students and families, faculty, and staff may dine with us at the Faculty/Staff rate of $7.50 for breakfast, $9.75 for lunch and $12.50 for dinner. Our dinner menu will feature steak, sustainably-caught salmon, scallops, sushi and world cuisines.

    If you are staying at the UMass Hotel at the Campus Center or in Residential Hall-Style Lodging, enjoy a $1.00 discount on all dinner meals. When checking in, please ask for your meal discount coupon.

    Hours: Friday, May 10, 2013, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday, May 11, 2013, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, May 12, 2013, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

  • Parents, Stay Informed!

    Sign up for the Office of Parent Services Mailing List and keep up with what's happening on campus as your student prepares to graduate from UMass Amherst.The parent mailing list is a bimontly email news to families about timely issues, campus happenings, and important upcoming dates for students and tips for families.

    The Office of Parent Services is dedicated to helping families with their transition to the university. The office is here to answer questions, provide timely information and updates, and assist parents and guardians with questions or concerns. Their helpful, knowledgeable staff responds to your phone call or email and is a place to contact when you don't know where to go.

     

  • Seeking Undergraduate Commencement Volunteers

    Share the joy of 5,500 graduating seniors with their 22,000 guests as they leave their UMass Amherst student days and launch their newly minted alumni lives. To ensure smooth sailing on their departure date, Friday, May 10, we need you to usher, aide, marshal or golf cart for the success of this important event.

    • Marshals — Staff and Community Members
      Organize graduates by school or college for the student processional into the stadium, escort them onto the field, and serve as field monitors.
      Volunteer time commitment:   4:00-6:45 p.m.
       
    • Aides — Staff, Students and Community Members 
      Welcome guests as they enter the stadium, distribute programs; provide directions and direct guests to their seats.  
      Volunteer time commitment:  3:00-7:00 p.m.
       
    • Ushers — Staff, Students and Community Members
      Greet in the stands and aid guests with seating, directions, and program information.
      Volunteer time commitment:  3:00-7:00 p.m.
       
    • Golf Cart Drivers — Staff and Community Members
      Transport guests with limited mobility from handicapped parking areas to the stadium in a golf cart assigned to you for the evening.
      Volunteer time commitment:  3:00-8:30 p.m.

    You’ll see degrees conferred, flags unfurled, and mortarboards tossed into the air.  In appreciation for your service to the University, you will receive a commemorative glass, lunch, and an opportunity to enter a drawing for our thank you gifts.

    Volunteer Orientation and Rehearsal
    Thursday, May 9

    Marshals
    1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
    McGuirk Alumni Stadium

    Ushers and Aides
    2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
    McGuirk Alumni Stadium

    Golf Cart Drivers
    3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
    McGuirk Alumni Stadium

    Appreciation Lunch
    Friday, May 10
    12:00 to 2:00 p.m.
    Berkshire Dining Commons

    Commencement Day — All volunteer Ushers, Aides, and Golf Cart Drivers must report to McGuirk Stadium at 3:00 p.m.  Marshals must report to McGuirk Stadium at 4:00 p.m.

    Interested? Complete the Volunteer Registration Form.

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