UMaine’s 216th Commencement is May 12

More than 1,650 students, including 34 doctoral degree candidates, are expected to participate in the University of Maine’s 216th Commencement on May 12 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, Sen. Susan Collins will give the Commencement address.

This year’s honorary degree recipient is women’s rights advocate and former Maine lawmaker Mary Cathcart.

The 2018 valedictorian is Graham Van Goffrier of Norwell, Massachusetts and the salutatorian is Brianna DeGone of Turner, Maine. Van Goffrier will receive a bachelor’s degree in physics, with minors in electrical engineering, mathematics and nanotechnology, and a master’s degree in electrical engineering — both earned during his four years at UMaine. DeGone, who also is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Engineering, will receive a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering, with a minor in business administration.

UMaine’s top annual faculty award winners for 2018 also will be honored during Commencement.

This year’s Distinguished Maine Professor is Frank Drummond, an internationally recognized entomologist whose decades of research on insect pests, bees and reproductive biology of the blueberry plant have contributed to the growth of Maine wild blueberry production.

Yong Chen, professor of fisheries population dynamics, is the 2018 Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award. Senthil Vel, the Arthur O. Willey Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is the 2018 Presidential Outstanding Teaching Award. Ivan Fernandez, professor of soil sciences and forest resources, is the 2018 Presidential Public Service Achievement Award.

The three Presidential Awards will be presented at the President’s Faculty Recognition Luncheon May 12.

On May 11, 10 cadets will be commissioned in an Army ROTC ceremony at 11 a.m. in Minsky Recital Hall. At 6 p.m., May 12, the Navy and Marine ROTC commissioning ceremony will be held in Minsky.

At the Graduate Commencement Ceremony, also on May 11, degrees to more than 255 master’s and Certificate of Advanced Studies candidates will be awarded at 3 p.m. in Alfond Area. 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