UMass Boston

The ceremony took place on May 27, prior to the start of the 58th annual graduate commencement. Three honorary degrees were also conferred during the event.

The ceremony began with an introduction and welcome from Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Education Tracy Baynard. "Earning a doctorate is not just an academic milestone—it is a reflection of who you have become,” she said to the doctoral candidates seated in front of the stage in Clark Athletic Center. “Yes, you have created new knowledge. But along the way, you have also built resilience, discipline, curiosity, and perspective.”

The graduating students represented six colleges from UMass Boston. The Hooding Ceremony conferred them with degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Doctor of Education (EdD), and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). One by one—to the cheers and applause of their families and friends—they ascended the stage with their faculty advisors, and received the hood that represents their new academic achievement.

In his speech, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Joseph Berger noted that these students are graduating at a special time in UMass Boston’s history. As an R1 university, UMass Boston is now among the nation’s leading research institutions for very high research activity, and is the number one R1 university for student access to research.

“Doctoral education is central to what it means to be an R1 university,” Berger said. “The knowledge you have created, the research you have advanced, and the degrees you earn today are part of the reason UMass Boston stands where it does.”

As UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco addressed the students, he challenged them to make their doctoral degrees matter, by showing the world why their scholarship matters.

“It is one thing to master a domain of scholarly knowledge,” he said, “This is undoubtedly an admirable accomplishment. But it is quite another thing to be an ambassador of that knowledge—to be prepared to share it meaningfully with your colleagues within and outside your respective disciplines and with the world.”

During the ceremony, Chancellor Suárez-Orozco presented three honorary degrees.

Charles J. Hoff and Regina (Gina) McCarthy ‘76 both received honorary doctorates of humane letters. Hoff, who originally came from a working-class background, has had a successful career as an engineer, an entrepreneur, a venture capitalist, and a philanthropist. He has supported more than 3,000 scholarships for students from diverse backgrounds to every UMass system school, including more than 500 scholarships for students to attend UMass Boston.

McCarthy, who received her undergraduate degree from UMass Boston in social anthropology, is one of the United States’ most respected voices on climate change. She served as the first White House national climate advisor, and as an administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Her ability to reach across the aisle, and encourage common-sense climate policy, has allowed her to enact some of the most aggressive action on climate in U.S. history.

An honorary doctor of laws was awarded to Martha Minow. She has taught at Harvard Law School since 1981, where she served as dean for eight years. Through her drive to create a more just and equitable world, she has worked on programs and commissions to counter extreme violence, increase curriculum access for students with disabilities, and promote peaceful development in post-conflict societies, among many other goals.