UMass Boston

On January 18, 2023, Andrea Joy Campbell was sworn in to be the 45th Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, pledging to build economic prosperity and stability for all residents, prioritize the mental health and well-being of children, stop cycles of incarceration and violence and ensure the people across the state have access to the AG's Office regardless of their zip code, language or ability.

Growing up in Roxbury, Andrea’s life was filled with instability. When Andrea was eight months old, she lost her mother to a car accident while going to visit her father in prison. She and her brothers bounced around – living with relatives and sometimes in foster care – until her father got out of prison when she was eight years old, and she met him for the first time.

Andrea and her family relied on public housing and food assistance while her grandmother struggled with alcoholism. Her two brothers sadly cycled in and out of the prison system. She lost her twin brother Andre, when he passed away while in the custody of the Department of Corrections as a pre-trial detainee.

Through all of this, Andrea persevered. Thanks to loving relatives, community support and a network of teachers who encouraged her, she turned pain into purpose. She graduated from Boston Latin School and then worked her way through college with the help of grants and student loans, graduating from Princeton University and UCLA Law School.

After earning her law degree, she worked as a legal services attorney for the EdLaw project, defending the rights of children and their families — particularly those with disabilities.

Andrea also practiced law at Proskauer LLP as an employment attorney, and ultimately left to serve the public as General Counsel at the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, working across 101 cities and towns to address regional challenges like health care access, transportation, affordable housing, and climate change.

Andrea served as legal counsel to Governor Deval Patrick, working to improve our education and transportation systems and move forward an agenda of equity across the state.

In 2015, Andrea successfully ran for the Boston City Council becoming the first woman to represent District 4 on the Council. Her first piece of legislation was the Community Preservation Act, which still generates over $20 million annually for new affordable housing, historical preservation, and parks and open space. In 2018, she was unanimously elected City Council President – the first Black woman to hold the title.

Janet Trafton Mills was sworn in on January 2, 2019, as the 75th governor of Maine and the first woman to serve in the role. Under her leadership, Maine’s gross domestic product has seen the strongest growth in New England and has outpaced larger states like California, New York, and Virginia. In just four years, Maine’s economic growth has surpassed that of the previous fifteen years. 

To achieve this, Governor Mills has focused on workforce development, infrastructure enhancements, and maintaining fiscal discipline. By investing in education, job training, child care, housing, health care, and broadband through her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, she addressed long-standing workforce shortages and laid the groundwork for a more resilient and future-ready economy. 

In other efforts to drive sustainable growth, Governor Mills led the creation of Maine’s first comprehensive economic development plan in over a decade. She directed more than $344 million in tax relief to residents and small businesses, providing vital financial support across the state. Guided by input from over 1,300 residents, she implemented strategic investments and policies that have propelled Maine’s economic growth and resilience. Her prudent fiscal policies have also expanded the state’s reserve fund to more than $900 million. 

Before becoming governor, Mills was the first and only woman to serve as Maine’s attorney general, holding the position from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2019. She followed in the footsteps of her father, who served as U.S. attorney for the District of Maine under Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon. A proud native of Farmington, Maine, she made it her mission to protect the people of Maine and fight for their rights, ensuring they had access to the resources and protections they needed to thrive. She took on dishonest mortgage lenders to help families stay in their homes and held Big Pharma accountable for its role in the opioid crisis. By reinvesting opioid settlement funds, she provided overdose-reversal kits that have saved more than 1,000 lives and worked to protect health care coverage for young adults across Maine. 

An alumna of the University of Massachusetts Boston and a graduate of the University of Maine School of Law, Mills has dedicated her career to public service. It is with great pride that we present Governor Janet T. Mills with the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Service. 

Since 2005, Michael J. Moran has represented the 18th Suffolk District, which includes parts of Brighton, Allston, Brookline, and Cambridge. Throughout his tenure, he has played key roles in shaping legislative priorities and strategy, serving in several leadership positions in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, including assistant majority leader, chair of the Joint Committee on Election Laws, and since 2023, majority leader.

Having grown up in a family that faced the challenges of immigration, Moran has led efforts to expand equity, uplift underserved communities, and ensure all residents have access to opportunity, essential services, and fair representation regardless of their background. He helped Charles River Community Health secure land for a Brighton facility now serving over 15,500 patients annually, mostly immigrants. His efforts to create stronger political representation for these communities by redrawing district lines resulted in the creation of the most diverse congressional district in Massachusetts and increased representation for immigrant and minority communities in the State House. 

By sponsoring an act that established a bill of rights for domestic workers, Moran demonstrated his commitment to protecting vulnerable workers. A transformative piece of legislation, the 2014 law is the most extensive in the nation, ensuring fair treatment and improved working conditions while safeguarding domestic workers against abuse, harassment, and discrimination. 

A strong advocate for voter reform, he has been a driving force behind legislation aimed at expanding voter access by leading efforts to allow early voting, simplify absentee voting, and ensure military personnel and overseas voters can cast their ballots. He also advocated for the preregistration of young voters and supported measures to make voting by mail a permanent option, all of which have helped improve voter engagement and turnout across the state. 

A lifelong resident of Brighton, he proudly represents the community where he grew up, with a deep understanding of its needs and dynamics. The University of Massachusetts Boston is honored to call him a distinguished alumnus, having earned his degree in economics in 1996. In recognition of his commitment to improving the lives of his constituents and advocating for positive change across the state, we are proud to present Representative Michael J. Moran with the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Service. 

Cathleen Douglas Stone is president of the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting a more knowledgeable and inclusive society, with particular emphasis on fostering environmental sustainability and mitigating wealth inequality. Previously, Stone was of counsel and a past partner of the Boston law firm Foley, Hoag & Eliot where her practice encompassed environmental and administrative law issues. In 1994, she was appointed Boston’s first chief of environmental services. While serving as chief, Stone helped launch the Sustainable Boston initiative and was a part of the team that created the Boston Harbor Islands National Park. 

She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Boston Harbor Now and The Wilderness Society, and she is a member of the Honorary Committee of the Museum of African American History (MAAH) Stone Book Award. For more than 25 years she served as a commissioner for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. She was also chair of the Board of Directors of the Museum of African American History and served on the Board of Directors of The Nature Conservancy, National Public Radio, the Supreme Court Historical Society, WBUR Boston, and Match Charter Public High School. 

In 2006, Stone received the Eleanor Roosevelt Following In Her Footsteps Award, and in 2017, she received the Norman B. Leventhal Excellence in City Building Award. She earned her BA and JD from American University and an LLM from Georgetown University Law Center.  

For her continuing commitment to environmental sustainability and the promotion of equality, the University of Massachusetts Boston is pleased to award Cathleen Douglas Stone the honorary doctorate of humane letters.

The Honorable Martin J. Walsh has long been an advocate for working people, equity, and community empowerment. From his early days as a union laborer to leading the Building and Construction Trades Council, serving two terms as mayor of Boston, and later as U.S. secretary of labor, he has championed fair wages, safer workplaces, and workers’ rights. Known for his pragmatic, community-first leadership, Walsh now brings these same values to his role as executive director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association, continuing his legacy of leadership and service. 

A proud Dorchester native, Walsh attended The Newman School before graduating from Boston College. Guided by a commitment to creating better opportunities for others, he has brought a straightforward, results-driven approach to every stage of his career. As mayor of Boston, he spearheaded initiatives that generated 140,000 jobs, attracted major employers, and expanded affordable housing across the city. He focused on closing the racial wealth gap and investing in underserved neighborhoods. Walsh also addressed chronic veterans’ homelessness and revitalized the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement, supporting nearly 10,000 immigrant residents. He expanded universal pre-K, introduced free community college programs, and established the nation’s first municipal Office of Recovery Services.  

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Walsh acted swiftly to protect public health by transforming the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center into a 1,000-bed field hospital, easing the burden on health care facilities, so they could focus on the most critical cases, prevent overcrowding, and provide better care. 

As U.S. secretary of labor, Walsh prioritized workers’ rights on a national scale. He launched the Good Jobs Initiative to expand access to equitable employment opportunities and grow registered apprenticeship programs. Under his leadership, the country saw a historic surge in job training efforts. He advanced key policy reforms, reversing restrictions on retirement fund managers to allow consideration of environmental, social, and governance factors. Additionally, he finalized rules enforcing protections against surprise medical billing, underscoring his commitment to fair, accessible health care. 

In recognition of his lifelong dedication to improving not only our community but communities across the nation, promoting equity, and giving people a voice, the University of Massachusetts Boston is proud to confer upon Martin J. Walsh an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.