UMaine’s 215th Commencement will be May 13

More than 1,900 students, including 34 doctoral degree candidates, are expected to participate in the University of Maine’s 215th Commencement on May 13 in Harold Alfond Sports Arena on campus.

UMaine Commencement will be held in two ceremonies, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Both ceremonies are ticketed events and live streaming will be available.

Tips for attending Commencement, provided by the UMaine Police Department, are online.

In the morning ceremony will be students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Development, the Maine Business School and the Division of Lifelong Learning. The afternoon ceremony is for students in the College of Engineering and the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture.

At both ceremonies, Maine entrepreneurs Heather and Abe Furth will give the Commencement address.

Honorary doctorates will be awarded to two alumni: Maine Native American elder Donna Loring and Kenneth Hodgkins, director of the Office of Space and Advanced Technology in the Bureau of Oceans, International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. State Department.

The 2017 valedictorian is Allyson Eslin of Bangor, an honors student who majored in economics, political science and psychology. Salutatorian Joshua Patnaude of Sanford majored in computer engineering and electrical engineering.

UMaine’s top annual faculty award winners for 2017 also will be honored during Commencement.

This year’s Distinguished Maine Professor is John Mahon, internationally recognized professor of management and one of the world’s foremost experts on corporate social responsibility.

Research Professor Marcella Sorg, a forensics researcher on the front lines of the drug abuse crisis in Maine and nationwide, is the 2017 Presidential Public Service Achievement Award recipient. Professor of English Harvey Kail, founder of UMaine’s nationally recognized Writing Center, is the 2017 Presidential Outstanding Teaching Award winner. And Professor of Anthropology and Quaternary and Climate Studies Daniel Sandweiss, an international expert on El Niño, is the 2017 Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award recipient.

The three Presidential Awards will be presented at the President’s Faculty Recognition Luncheon May 13.

May 12, the Army ROTC Commissioning will be held at 11 a.m. in Minsky Recital Hall. The Graduate Student and Faculty Recognition Ceremony is at 4 p.m. in Alfond Area, and the Pinning Ceremony for the School of Nursing begins at 7 p.m. in the Collins Center for the Arts.

Contact: Margaret Nagle, 207.581.3745