Vertex Pharmaceuticals President and CEO Reshma Kewalramani,
Vertex Pharmaceuticals President and CEO Reshma Kewalramani and University College Cork President John O’Halloran will receive UMass Lowell honorary degrees during a weekend of Commencement exercises that will honor the Class of 2025, distinguished alumni and community leaders.
The ceremonies will be held on Friday, May 16, and Saturday, May 17, at the university’s Tsongas Center in Lowell.
Keynote speakers at each of three ceremonies – the first on Friday for master’s and doctoral degree candidates, and two on Saturday for bachelor’s degree candidates – will be students about to receive their diplomas who exemplify the UMass Lowell experience.
UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen will also address the graduates at these events, where a variety of awards to honorees will be presented. The schedule follows below:
Friday, May 16 at noon: UMass Lowell master’s and doctoral candidates will receive their degrees. Speakers, honored guests and organizations will include:
• Commencement student speaker Mubarak Ayinla ’25 of Lowell, a doctoral candidate in organic chemistry. He is working to develop gels that can repair themselves automatically, modified bacterial molecules aimed at overcoming antibiotic-resistant infections and materials designed to remove pollutants from the environment. He is a two-term president of the university’s Graduate Student Association.
University County Cork President John O’Halloran
• Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Richard Grande ’72, ’80, an executive director and advisor at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management.
• Distinguished Alumni Award recipients Valerie Barry ’84, ’87, a medical researcher who later taught middle school math and science, and James Barry ’88, who had a successful, 30-year career in the medical device industry.
• Chancellor’s Medal for Outstanding University Support recipient Brooks Automation Inc. of Chelmsford. A leading provider of semiconductor manufacturing and laboratory automation solutions, Brooks supports UMass Lowell in many ways, including hiring graduates, providing internships to students and, most recently, establishing a campus makerspace.
• Chancellor’s Medal for Public Service and Civic Engagement recipient S. Army Lt. Col. Adam Caruso, an Army Special Forces officer assigned as the U.S. Special Operations Command’s technology liaison for Boston and the New England region.
Saturday, May 17, morning ceremony at 9 am: UMass Lowell bachelor’s candidates in the Francis College of Engineering, Kennedy College of Sciences and Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences will receive their degrees. Speakers and honored guests will include:
• Commencement student speaker Sameera Jangala ’25 of Woburn, a bachelor’s degree candidate in biology. She is currently working as a faculty assistant at Shine in Math Academy, where she teaches children English and math, and has worked extensively as a nursing assistant in the neurosurgical intensive care unit at Beth Israel Lahey Health.
• Honorary degree recipient Reshma Kewalramani, CEO and president of Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
• Chancellor’s Medal for Outstanding University Support awarded to Draper, the nonprofit engineering and research company that is the anchor tenant in the Lowell Innovation Corridor Network (LINC).
• Chancellor’s Medal for Public Service and Civic Engagement awarded to Mark Cochran, retired CEO of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union of Lowell.
Saturday, May 17, afternoon ceremony at 2 pm: UMass Lowell bachelor’s candidates in the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the Manning School of Business will receive their degrees. Speakers and honored guests will include:
• Commencement student speaker Sydney Selby ’25, of Boulder, Colorado, a criminal justice bachelor’s degree candidate. She is a cadet in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps who completed an internship with UMass Lowell Police Department, where she became certified in self-defense, aided in community policing efforts and gained a valuable firsthand look at policing operations.
• Honorary degree recipient John O’Halloran, president of University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
• Distinguished Alumni Award recipients Francis Talty ’77 and Patricia Talty ’78, both former UMass Lowell faculty members.
• Chancellor’s Medal for Public Service and Civic Engagement recipient Richard Howe Jr., retired register of deeds for Middlesex County.
• Chancellor’s Medal for Outstanding University Support awarded to the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
