U.S. Sen. Barack Obama to Receive Honorary Degree, Address 2,500 UMass Boston Graduates
On Friday, June 2, the University of Massachusetts Boston will award U.S. Sen. Barack Obama an honorary doctor of laws degree for advancing and protecting the interests of the less fortunate, for adherence to a political credo that transcends both party and race, and for his thoughtful and farsighted contributions to the nation’s principal lawmaking body.
The senator will deliver the keynote address to the 2,535 graduate and undergraduate degree recipients at the university’s 38th commencement, which will be held at 10 a.m. on the lawn in front of the Campus Center.
“Senator Obama’s tireless work as a civil rights attorney and his diligent legislative efforts on behalf of veterans, working families, children and the environment resonate deeply with our campus’ urban mission,” UMass Boston Chancellor Michael F. Collins, MD, said. “He will be addressing New England’s most diverse public university with a faculty and student body who share his commitment to public service and America’s future.”
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Sen. Obama has dedicated his life to public service as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and leader in the Illinois state Senate, where he served for seven years. Sen. Obama serves on the Senate’s important Environment and Public Works Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Sen. Obama is the only African American now serving in that assembly, and the fifth in U.S. history. The Senator is especially proud of being a husband and father of two daughters, Malia, 7 and Sasha, 4. Sen. Obama and his wife, Michelle, married in 1992 and live on Chicago’s South Side.
At the 2004 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Boston, Sen. Obama delivered a stirring and memorable address. A tireless public servant, he has worked as a civil rights attorney and on behalf of children and working families, and as a legislator he has considerably enhanced the public discourse on issues such as veterans’ affairs, the environment, and death-penalty reform.
Sen. Obama received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University and then moved to Chicago to work as a South Side community organizer. He returned east to study law at Harvard University, serving as the first-ever black editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduating with honors. Sen. Obama was a member of the Illinois state senate for seven years, working with both Democrats and Republicans to create and enact legislation designed to benefit the working poor and other marginalized groups. Notable among these measures was an earned-income tax credit that resulted in significant tax cuts for Illinois families.
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UMass Boston will award 2,535 diplomas and certificates at the celebration of its 38th commencement. The general procession will begin at 10:00 a.m. The university will confer 1,852 undergraduate degrees and 683 graduate degrees. In addition to honoring the JFK Award winner, three faculty members will be recognized with the Chancellor’s Distinguished Scholarship Award, the Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award, and the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award.
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UMass Boston prides itself on academic excellence, diversity, and its commitment to serving students and the greater Boston community. Through its six colleges—Liberal Arts, Science and Mathematics, Management, Nursing and Health Sciences, Public and Community Service, the Graduate College of Education – Division of Continuing, Corporate and Distance Education, and the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, UMass Boston offers undergraduate and graduate study in more than 150 fields. More information about UMass Boston can be found at: www.umb.edu.