COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES 2011
- INTRODUCTORY EXERCISES
PROCESSIONAL
UMass LowellBrass Ensemble
Kevin Barry Irish American Pipes & Drums
(Sheriff Koutoujian goes to Lectern A)
CALL TO ORDER(KOUTOUJIAN) LECTERN A
As Sheriff of Middlesex County,I hereby call the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s TwentiethCommencement exercises to order.
(Sheriff Koutoujiantaps truncheon 3 times on stage; then goes to seat)
(Executive Vice Chancellor Moloney goes to Lectern B)
NATIONAL ANTHEM (MOLONEY) LECTERN B
Ladies and gentlemen: Please remain standing as members of the University’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corp present the colors, and join graduating seniorsTheresa Cleary, Elisabeth Hodge and Kendall Ditommaso(Ken-dahl Dee-Tom-ah-so) in the singing of the National Anthem.
(Executive Vice Chancellor Moloney returns to seat)
(ROTC Process in and Present Colors)
(Cleary, Hodge and Ditommasoperform the National Anthem)
(Immediately after National Anthem, Kevin Barry Pipes & Drums Exit Stage Left)
(Cleary, Hodge and Ditommasoreturn to seats)
(Executive Vice Chancellor Moloney goes to Lectern B)
- RECOGNITION
PLATFORM RECOGNITION(MOLONEY) LECTERN B
Good morning everyone. My name is Jacquie Moloney and I am the Executive Vice Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell. It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you all to our twentiethCommencement ceremony.
I would like to thank Theresa, Elisabeth and Kendallas well as the UMass Lowell Brass Ensemblefor that lovely performance. I would also like to thank our Air Force ROTC cadets for their presentation of the colors.
UMass Lowell is grateful to all our students who are veterans, guardsmen, reservists and those who are active duty military personnel. Would all of you here today who have served, or are currently serving in the armed forces please stand to be recognized.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you for your service.
I would like to ask that we take a moment now to remember those seniors and loved ones who are tragically not able to be with us today.
[PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE]
INTRODUCTION (MOLONEY) LECTERN B
Now, to bring greetings from the City of Lowell, I have the pleasure of introducing the Mayor Jim Milinazzo.
(Executive Vice Chancellor Moloney returns toseat)
(Mayor Milinazzo goes to Lectern A)
GREETINGS (MILINAZZO) LECTERN A
Chancellor Meehan, Graduates of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, family members and friends, welcome to the City of Lowell.
It is a place you graduating students now know very well.
Your experience with this city will undoubtedly leave you with pleasant memories of downtown establishments, of crossing the bridge to the sound of the Pawtucket Falls, of renovated mill buildings along the Merrimack River and walkways along the canals.
I hope you leave also with a sense of how small cities are great places to live, work and play – and that you will return here often to do just that.
On behalf of the City of Lowell, I congratulate you, the Class of 2011.
(Mayor Milinazzo returns to seat)
(Executive Vice Chancellor Moloney goes to Lectern B)
INTRODUCTION (MOLONEY) LECTERN B
Now, to bring greetings from the Massachusetts State Senate, I have the pleasure of introducing the Senator from the First Middlesex District, Senator Eileen Donoghue.
(Executive Vice Chancellor Moloney returns toseat)
(Senator Donoghue goes to Lectern A)
GREETINGS (DONOGHUE) LECTERN A
Chancellor Marty Meehan, graduates of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, family members and friends.
On behalf of Senate President Therese Murray and Speaker Robert Deleo and those we represent across the Commonwealth, I am honored to bring greetings from the Massachusetts Legislature. I can tell you from personal experience, your UMass degree can catapult you wherever you want to go.
As a graduate of the Class of 1976 from UMass, I am proud to welcome you to the illustrious rolls of UMass alumni.
Accept my sincere congratulations. Thank you.
(Senator Donoghue returns to seat)
(Executive Vice Chancellor Moloney goes to Lectern B)
PLATFORM RECOGNITION (MOLONEY) LECTERN B
At this time I would like to recognize members of the Fiftieth Year Reunion Class. Will members of the 1961 classes of Lowell State College and Lowell Technological Institute please stand.
(APPLAUSE)
Welcome back to campus!
We are also honored to have with us today, Jack Wilson, President of the University of Massachusetts; Marcellette Williams, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and InternationalRelations; from the UMass Board of Trustees, Chairman James Karam,Vice Chair Ruben King-Shaw, Trustee Phil Johnston, Trustee Kerri Osterhaus-Houle, and Student TrusteeMichael Reid from UMass Lowell, who is also graduating today – congratulations Michael.
(Executive Vice Chancellor Moloney returns toseat)
(Student Trustee Michael Reid goes to Lectern B)
STUDENT ADDRESS
INTRODUCTION (REID) LECTERN B
Each year a committee of faculty and staff choose a student commencement speaker from an outstanding pool of applicants.
The committee is entrusted to select a student with a background that resounds with the values of this University.
This year’s student speaker has achieved a great deal in his time at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
He succeeded academically, studying electrical engineering, and has contributed to the university community by participating in organizations such as Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society.
He is the epitome of a UMass Lowell graduate, who will leave this campus with more than just an education.
I am pleased to introduce my friend, and your 2011 student commencement speaker, Vinny Diniz.
(Student Trustee Michael Reid returns to seat)
(Vinicius Dinizgoes to Lectern A)
ADDRESS(DINIZ) LECTERN A
Chancellor Meehan, members of the platform party, faculty, staff, parents, families, friends, and my fellow graduates: It’s with great pride and honor that I speak before you today, representing all the hard-working students from the class of 2011.
Congratulations! Today is our day! All of us, we students and those who’ve supported us, have made great sacrifices so this day could arrive. We are here to celebrate our achievements, to look back over our time at UMass Lowell, and to say thank you for the help we’ve had along the way.
Each of us has a story about what UMass Lowell has meant to us.
I am originally from Brazil. When I came to the United States, I believed I was coming to the best country in the world.
I brought these great expectations to UMass Lowell, and today I can tell you that what I once believed, I now know to be true.
I was very fortunate to have come to a state that represents the values of freedom and the fight for liberty. I am even more fortunate to have chosen one of its best colleges; the University of Massachusetts Lowell, which, just like me, had humble beginnings. I am so proud to call it my home!
Like all of you, I faced challenges to arrive here. The challenges of coming to the United States were many. I faced a language barrier; long, late hours working as a busboy to pay my tuition; and, perhaps the most difficult: having to be on my own, 4,000 miles away from my whole family. I’ve learned that my experience is shared with so many UMass Lowell graduates: the desire to get an education, and the commitment and determination to overcome challenges to open up the doors of opportunity.
Another quality I recognize in you, my classmates, is your character and maturity.
So many of you see opportunity, not only as something that we take for ourselves, but as something we can and should offer to others. You embrace the responsibility that rightfully comes with freedom and liberty.
We all owe a debt of gratitude to those who face mortal danger to keep this nation safe: the men and women of our armed forces. Graduates, as leaders, we should all express our gratitude for the sacrifices they and others have made to give us the opportunities that we enjoy. I have seen many of you already repaying this debt.
Whether you were volunteering in the community, devising assistive technologies in the lab, tutoring your peers, or even, like many UMass Lowell students, serving in the armed forces, you made me feel lucky to know you.
I consider myself blessed to be counted among UMass Lowell’s alumni, because I know that beyond being well-educated, we are moral, and caring, and ready to give back to others.
Just two months ago at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, I became a naturalized American citizen. The next day, I became a married man.
Today, I’m glad to have so many important people witness my receiving a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from a world-class institution -- my parents who have come to the United States together for the first time; my wife, who I met in this great country and who has been my biggest supporter for years; and by many friends and faculty who have made UMass Lowell my home. I thank you all for having embraced me!
Fellow UMass Lowell graduates, class of 2011, may your lives be filled with health, happiness and success! Congratulations!
(Vinicius Diniz stays at Lectern A to introduce Senior Class Gift)
PRESENTATION OF SENIOR CLASS GIFT
INTRODUCTION (DINIZ) LECTERN A
The members of the Senior Class, following a tradition established by their predecessors have arranged for an expression of appreciation to the University. To make this presentation, I have the honor to presentSara Jane Jones, President of the Senior Class.
(Sara Jane Jonesgoes to Lectern B)
PRESENTATION(JONES) LECTERN B
Chancellor Meehan, on behalf of the 2011 Senior Class please accept this token of our appreciation.
(Chancellor Meehan goes to award area, receives envelope from Sara Jane Jones)
--PAUSE FOR PHOTOS--
(Chancellor Meehan goes to Lectern A)
(Vinicius Dinizand Sara Jane Jonesreturn to seats)
ACCEPTANCE (MEEHAN) LECTERN A
Thank you Vinny and Sara Jane.
This generous gift will help support students who are aspiring to one day join you as fellow UMass Lowell graduates.
I commend your class for recognizing the importance of philanthropy and helping others who have not yet completed their journey.
Thank you.
CHANCELLOR'S COMMENTS TO CLASS OF 2011
(MEEHAN) LECTERN A
Welcome Class of 2011. Today, the University of Massachusetts Lowell honors you.
In your own way, each of you has accomplished what you set out to do when you entered the gateway of higher education.
You came from many places and from many directions, but you chose UMass Lowell, and for that we are grateful.
When you leave here today, through another symbolic gateway, you will begin a new phase of your life and work.
We applaud all of you for your academic achievement today.
This University is proud of what you have accomplished and declares you ready for all that life has to offer you.
Today I complete my fourth year as Chancellor – I started around the same time as many of you started as first yearstudents here at UMass Lowell.
And I think you will agree – a lot has happened in that time.
Our student body has grown by more than 30 percent … because more and more students are choosing to attend UMass Lowell and because of our new vibrant campus community – more students are choosing to stay here and complete their degree.
As a result, you are the largest graduating class in the history of this University.
We have 2,571graduates receiving diplomas, a number that has grown by more than 500 since I arrived in 2007.
In this Class of 2011 … 21 of you are receiving associate’s degrees and 1,814 are receiving bachelor’s degrees.
Another 652 have earned master’s degrees, while 84 of you have earned your doctorate.
While most of you are from Massachusetts, you have also come from 38 other states and 27 other countries.
Almost 3 percent of graduates this year are international.
Nearly 20 percent are students of color and 34 percent of you are, like I was, the first in your families to graduate from college.
More than half of the graduating students took at least one on-line course
The statistic I am most proud of is that 37 percent of you are graduating with honors.
Your stories include family and friends, partners and mentors who helped you to get to this day.
These are the people who love you and believe in you.
Let us recognize their emotional and financial support now!
(APPLAUSE)
And as much as our student body has changed, so has the University to meet your needs.
The prestige of the University is growing daily – and your degree means more today than it ever has.
More than half of our classes have 20 or fewer students.
Less than 5 percent of classes have more than 50 students.
We have a fourteen-to-one student-teacher ratio – the smallest in the UMass system.
One hundred percent of our classrooms now offer state-of-the-art technology to enhance the learning experience.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported last December that UMass Lowell leads New England public research institutions in increasing our six-year graduation rate.
Nationwide, among 150 colleges and universities, UMass Lowell’s growth ranked number 24.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, let us acknowledge the contributions of our superb faculty who have worked so hard to help you achieve your dreams, and for that we thank them.
(APPLAUSE)
I am also very proud and grateful to our dedicated team of staff, alumni and friends in the community, all of whom have made extraordinary contributions to realizing the potential of this great institution.
Please join me in applauding their outstanding efforts.
(APPLAUSE)
The past few years have been challenging times in our country.
As you have climbed the ladder of higher education, you have been a part of the reality of economic distress, global conflict, and heart-breaking social issues.
We are confident that in climbing that ladder, you are better prepared to become a part of the solutions we desperately need in today’s world.
UMass Lowell this year was named to President Obama’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, a prestigious federal recognition awarded for our commitment to community engagement.
We received the award in part for the 51,000 hours of service you provide every year to communities near and far.
You helped villagers in Peru with solar energy projects and people in Honduras with water purification, produced public health videos for local communities, organized efforts to support our veterans at home and troops overseas, taught kids about urban gardens, created life-assisting devices for the physically challenged and spent your spring break volunteering in homeless shelters.
It is my hope that you will remain active citizens who become deeply engaged in your communities, whether you define community as your hometown, your state, the nation or the world.
I am so proud that many of you already have recognized the need to give of yourself to help this world.
Thank you.
[PAUSE]
We call this ceremony Commencement because it is just the beginning of the great things that you can accomplish.
While you may move on or move away, I want you to know that the bond you formed with UMass Lowell can and should last a lifetime.
As alumni, you will be important members of our University community.
Come back and see how we are doing.
Come to a concert at the Tsongas Center or a symposium at the Inn & Conference Center.
Stop in at the Boathouse on the Merrimack to watch the rowing team, and mark your calendars for River Hawk hockey games.
Swing by to see the progress on the new buildings on North and South campuses, and that really big one, University Crossing.
Keep in touch with your professors and friends.
Many of you will be going on to further your education with an advanced degree.
Some of you are looking for jobs and some have already found employment.
But, let me make a suggestion, when you do get your first pay check – take a loved one who helped you get here today out for lunch or dinner and write a small check for student scholarships to the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Congratulations on your accomplishment today.
Welcome to the community of scholars.
Let me close with a thought from the late Senator Robert Kennedy. His words are fitting for our time:
"All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don't. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity."
I urge everyone, especially our graduates, to make the most of the opportunities.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS
INTRODUCTION (MEEHAN) LECTERN A
At each Commencement exercise, the University is pleased to recognize individuals by presenting awards for distinguished achievement and service to the University.
Last night, at a special reception, we honored those students who have achieved excellence in academics, athletics and community service.