UMaine Commencement ceremonies will be held May 10–11

More than 1,700 undergraduate and graduate students, including upward of 40 doctoral candidates, are expected to participate in University of Maine Commencement ceremonies May 10–11 in Alfond Sports Arena.

The Graduate School Commencement for master’s degree and certificate of advanced study students begins at 4 p.m. May 10, with 2,000 family members, friends and colleagues in attendance. Nearly 10,000 spectators are expected for the 217th Commencement ceremonies for doctoral candidates and bachelor’s degree students at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. May 11.

All the ceremonies will be live streamed. The Saturday ceremonies are ticketed events. Tips for attending UMaine Commencement are online.

The morning ceremony on Saturday is for students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Education and Human Development, 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.

Saturday’s Commencement address will be delivered by Old Town native and alumna Bridget Ziegelaar, the operations manager for NASA’s International Space Station Research Integration Office. Addressing the Graduate School Commencement on Friday will be alumnus and inventor Doug Hall, founder of Eureka! Ranch.

An honorary degree will be awarded to Surry resident Florence Reed, founder of Sustainable Harvest International.

Drew Brooks of Lyman, Maine is the 2019 University of Maine valedictorian and Ana Eliza Souza Cunha of Orono is the salutatorian. Brooks is a double major in microbiology and music, with a minor in molecular biology. He will receive two bachelor’s degrees — one in microbiology, and one in music. Souza Cunha, a biology major with minors in neuroscience and psychology, and a concentration in pre-medical studies, will receive a bachelor’s degree in biology. The Honors student also is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture.

This year’s other Outstanding Graduating Students also are expected to attend their respective ceremonies.

The 2019 Distinguished Maine Professor is Sandra Caron, professor of family relations and human sexuality. She will be recognized at the President’s Faculty Recognition Luncheon May 11, along with this year’s three Presidential Award winners.

Susan McKay, RiSE Center director and professor of physics, will receive the 2019 Presidential Public Service Achievement Award. Jennifer Tyne, a lecturer in mathematics, will receive the 2019 Presidential Outstanding Teaching Award. Jasmine Saros, professor of paleoecology in the School of Biology and Ecology, and associate director of the Climate Change Institute, will receive the 2019 Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award.

Also on May 10, five cadets will be commissioned in an Army ROTC ceremony at 11 a.m. in Minsky Recital Hall. A midshipman from UMaine Naval ROTC will be commissioned in an 11 a.m. ceremony May 11.

The Pinning Ceremony for the School of Nursing begins at 7 p.m. May 10 in the Collins Center for the Arts.

Contact: Margaret Nagle, 207.581.3745