University of Massachusetts Boston The University Mace Symbols of authority and power, maces were originally hand weapons designed for use against armor. Topped by the flame of knowledge, the University mace has the University seal as a focal point and unifying element. Tassels of maroon and white hang from the shaft of fourteen rods of black walnut, symbolizing the fourteen counties of the Commonwealth. The head of the mace is gold plate over highly polished brass. Complex curves radiating from the hub in which the seal is centered reflect light in constantly changing patterns, symbolic of the many-faceted environment of the university life. Academic Costume and Regalia The academic regalia worn by faculty and students at this ceremony repre­ sent traditions which come down from the Middle Ages, when European universities were institutions of the church. At that time, robes were a common form of dress, particularly for officials of church and state. The cut of the robe, its adornment, and the colors used comprised a specialized heraldry that conveyed the rank and station of the wearer. At the universities, both faculty and students were considered to be part of the church hierarchy and were expected to wear the prescribed gowns. As society moved toward more modern forms of dress, only royalty, clergy, judges, and academics retained the traditional regalia, reserving it only for ceremonial use. Modern academic regalia retain some of the symbols of the earlier forms of ceremonial dress. The gown tends to be fullest, longest, and heaviest for the doctoral degree. The sleeves for the bachelor's and master's gowns are typi­ cally open at the wrist. Cuffs are more common on the doctoral gown, and its sleeves are adorned by three velvet strips, symbolic of the degree. The mantle worn about the shoulders, called the hood, is the remnant of func­ tional headgear worn for warmth in the unheated classrooms of medieval universities. Today its colors refer to the school that granted the degree and the level or discipline of the degree (e.g., navy blue for Ph.D., pink for music). The usual color for academic gowns in the United States is black. However, many universities in this country and many others throughout the world have adopted more colorful robes. In general, this practice has been limited to schools more than one hundred years old. Among the schools represented by colorful robes at commencement ceremonies are Boston College, Boston University, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, New York, Oxford, Princeton, Rutgers, Stanford, Tufts, and Yale Universities, and the Universities of California, Kansas, and Rhode Island. Diploma-Presentation Diploma-presentation ceremonies for individual UMass Boston colleges, Ceremonies (Please Note!) as well as the McCormack Graduate School, will be held after the main ceremony. Graduates from all but two of these academic units will/eave the main hall and move to other locations in the Expo Center, followed by their families and friends. College of Liberal Arts graduates and guests, and College of Science and Mathematics graduates and guests, will stay behind. We ask all guests to remain at their seats until the academic procession has left the main hall. For details, please see the separate page that was distributed with this program. Honoring Our Graduates To permit both the graduates and their guests to enjoy today's celebration, (Please Note!) we ask all members of the audience to remain seated during the ceremony, to turn off cell phones, and to avoid making any sounds that might make it difficult for others to hear. This program is for ceremonial purposes. The official list of graduates is maintained by the university registrar. University of Massachusetts Boston Commencement 2004 University of Massachusetts Boston Friday, June 4, 2004 Bayside Exposition Center Boston, Massachusetts The Program Jo Ann M. Gora, Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Boston Presiding The Academic Procession The National Anthem Christina E. De Vaughn, Class of 1999 Invocation Rabbi Leslie Keiter Tannenwald Congregation Agudat Achim, Medway, Massachusetts Welcome J o Ann M. Gora, Chancellor Greetings of the University Jack M. Wilson, President, University of Massachusetts Presentation of the Chancellor's Distinguished Scholarship Award to Randy Albelda JoAnn M. Gora, Chancellor Presentation of the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award to Nelson Lande JoAnn M. Gora, Chancellor Presentation of the Chancellor's Distinguished Service Award to Vivian Zamel JoAnn M. Gora, Chancellor Presentation of the John F. Kennedy Award for Academic Excellence to Janet K. Marcous Paul Fonteyn, Provost 2 Remarks on Behalf of the Class of 2004 Janet K. Marcous, Kennedy Award Recipient Conferral of Honorary Degrees upon Edward W. Forry (Doctor of Humane Letters) Dennis Lehane (Doctor of Humane Letters) Vivian W. Pinn (Doctor of Science) Ronald Takaki (Doctor of Humane Letters) Principal Address Dennis Lehane Conferral of Doctoral Degrees Conferral of Master's Degrees, Graduate Certificates, and Bachelor's Degrees upon Students from The College of Liberal Arts The College of Management The College of Nursing and Health Sciences The College of Public and Community Service The College of Science and Mathematics The Graduate College of Education The John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies Induction of New Alumni Janet K. Marcous '04, Kennedy Award Recipient Patricia M. Flaherty '81, President, UMass Boston Alumni Association Singing of "To UMass Boston" The University Chamber Singers Jeffrey Rink, Director (See inside back cover for lyrics.) Concluding Remarks JoAnn M. Gora, Chancellor Recessional 3 Edward W. Forry Edward W. Forry is founder and publisher of the Dorchester-based media Doctor of Humane Letters company Boston Neighborhood News. A lifelong Dorchester resident, he is a Boston College High School and Boston College graduate who began his career as a reporter for the Dorchester Argus-Citizen and later served as a community relations liaison for Dorchester Savings Bank. Some thirty years after setting out to pursue his dream of starting a newspaper, he oversees a thriving group of journals that celebrate Boston's rich cultural diversity. The publications provide news with an emphasis on multiculturalism, human rights, and other issues of interest to Boston's ethnic enclaves. The Dorchester Reporter, which debuted in 1983, is today the most widely read community newsweekly in the city's largest and most diverse neighborhood. Launched in 1990, the monthly Boston Irish Reporter was one of the first community newspapers to go online. The Boston Haitian Reporter, serving one of Massachusetts' fastest-growing ethnic groups, was added in 2001. And just last year, a fourth paper-the Mattapan Reporter-was introduced. The papers have been recognized for journalistic excellence by the New England Press Association. Ed Forry has given back to the Boston area through a sustained involvement in civic concerns, having served in the boardrooms of the Irish Cultural Centre, Cedar Grove Cemetery, the Dorchester Family YMCA, and the Neponset Health Center. For his contributions to these causes and others, he has been honored with an "Always the Irish Heart" Award by the Irish Chamber of Commerce in the USA, a Silver Key Award by the Charitable Irish Society, and an Ignatian Award by Boston College High School, the highest award presented by the school to an alumnus. We honor Ed Forry for his understanding of the value of an educated and aware public, for his service to charitable causes, and for his dedication to improving the quality of life in all of Boston's communities. Dennis Lehane Dennis Lehane has used his knowledge of Boston's mean streets to carve out Doctor of Humane Letters a successful career as a novelist and film director. Since 1994 the Dorchester native has published seven novels, all set in Boston and all notable for their hyperreal, hard-bitten characters and suspenseful prose. His A Drink Before the War won the Shamus Award for Best First Novel, and his fifth novel, Prayers for Rain, was selected as a New York Times Notable Book. Lehane has also written, produced, and directed a feature film, Neighborhoods, and he is currently at work on a new film script and another novel. He graduated from Boston College High School, spent a year at Emerson College and a year at UMass Boston, then transferred to Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he received a BA. After college he worked at an assortment of odd jobs-as a bookstore clerk and as a counselor for victims of physical and sexual abuse, among other positions-before being awarded a fellowship by the Graduate Writing Program at Florida International University in Miami, where he studied with John Dufresne, Lynne Barrett, and Les Standiford. His novel Mystic River was a finalist for the 2001 PEN/Winship Award, won both the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for Best Novel, and received the Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction from the Massachusetts Center for the Book. Said Library Journal of the book, "Lehane once again proves himself non-pareil in writing about the dark side of the human character." Reviewers also appreciated the book's energy and depth of emotion; the New York Times Book Review called it "a powerhouse ... heart-scorching ... penetrating." The novel inspired the 2003 Academy Award-winning movie of the same name, a film that was shot in Boston and was directed by Clint Eastwood. We honor Dennis Lehane for attaining prominence in the arts through hard work and talent, and for translating his experience of life in Boston's neighborhoods into a rich artistic vision. 4 Vivian W. Pinn Vivian W. Pinn is director of the Office of Research on Women's Health at the Doctor of Science National Institutes of Health (NIH), an appointment she has held since joining NIH in 1991.