Massachusetts Gov. Maura T. Healey will deliver the Commencement address as UMass Chan Medical School celebrates its 51st Commencement and the Classes of 2024 on Sunday, June 2.
Degrees will be awarded to 320 students by the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Healey, the 73rd governor of Massachusetts, was elected in 2022. She is the first woman and first LGBTQ+ person to hold the position.
Honorary degrees will also be awarded to Ann Kurth, PhD, RN, MPH, president of the New York Academy of Medicine; and Frederick “Rick” Sontag, MS, MBA, co-founder and president of the Sontag Foundation, the Spring-Bay Companies and the Brain Tumor Network.
Several events in the days leading up to Commencement will honor outstanding faculty and students and celebrate the accomplishments of graduating students.
On Thursday, May 30, the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences will host the 15th annual Student Academic Achievement Awards ceremony at 2 p.m. in the Albert Sherman Center Cube. The ceremony will be followed by a reception in the atrium outside the Cube.
Also on Thursday, the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing will host its awards and scholarship presentations at 5 p.m. in the Albert Sherman Center auditorium. A reception will follow in the Sherman Center multipurpose room.
On Friday, May 31, the T.H. Chan School of Medicine Alumni Association will host its annual breakfast at 9 a.m. in the Sherman Center multipurpose room. Student awards and outstanding medical educator awards will be presented, and the members of the Class of 2024 will be welcomed as alumni.
Also on Friday, the Diversity and Inclusion Office and the UMass Chan chapter of White Coats for Black Lives will hold its annual Deborah Harmon Hines Commencement Celebration in honor of Deborah Harmon Hines, PhD, retired vice provost for school services and professor emeritus of radiology and nursing. Dr. Hines is credited with developing and nurturing the Medical School’s renowned pipeline programs, including the Worcester Pipeline Collaborative. Graduating students of underrepresented and marginalized groups from all three schools will be recognized and presented with Kente and multicultural stoles to wear at Commencement. The event is open to all graduating students and families, faculty and staff at 6 p.m. in the Albert Sherman Center Cube. Attendees must preregister.
On Saturday, June 1, the Commencement 2024 Campus Celebration is being held in the Albert Sherman Center multipurpose room beginning at 8 p.m. All students and their friends and families, faculty, and staff are welcome to attend and enjoy hors d'oeuvres, drinks, desserts, dancing and entertainment by DJ Excalibur. Attendees are asked to RSVP by May 24.
Commencement 2024 will take place on Sunday, June 2, under a tent on the campus green in front of the new education and research building. Guest seating will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the processional starting at 11:45 a.m. The ceremony will begin promptly at noon and will be livestreamed on YouTube.
Class speakers include Jesse Sardell for the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, Julie Hugunin for the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Jennifer Costa for the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing.
Highlights and photos of the week’s events will be posted on the UMass Chan news page.
