University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Doctoral Student Ceremony

UMass Board of Trustees

• Stephen R. Karam, Chairman
• Mary L. Burns, Vice Chair ’84, Lowell
• David M. Brunelle
• Gerald G. Colella ’78, Lowell
• Jose M. Delgado ’18, Amherst
• Robert Epstein ’67, Amherst
• Gent A. Haviari ’25, Dartmouth
• Ann M. Maguire Keches ’73, Amherst
• Juana B. Matias ’09, Boston
• Stephanie A. Nicum ’25, Lowell
• Michael V. O’Brien ’88, Amherst
• Noreen C. Okwara, M.D., ’12, Boston; ’17, Chan Medical School
• Felicity B. Oliveira ’25, Amherst
• Elizabeth I. Osa-Agbontaen ’25, Chan Medical School
• Imari K. Paris Jeffries, PhD, BA, MEd, MA, PhD ’97, ’99, ’03, ’23, Boston
• Julie M. Ramos Gagliardi, MBA, ’87, Dartmouth
• Abigail Raymond ’25, Boston
• Elizabeth D. Scheibel, JD
• Joseph C. Sullivan ’81, Amherst
• Steven A. Tolman ’99, Boston
• Patrick Tutwiler, PhD
• Charles F. Wu, MBA

UMass Dartmouth Mission

UMass Dartmouth distinguishes itself as a vibrant, public research university dedicated to engaged learning and innovative research resulting in personal and lifelong student success. The University serves as an intellectual catalyst for economic, social, and cultural transformation on a global, national, and regional scale.

UMass Dartmouth Vision

UMass Dartmouth will be a globally recognized premier research university committed to inclusion, access, advancement of knowledge, student success, and community enrichment.

Land Acknowledgement Statement

UMass Dartmouth acknowledges the land that we occupy and on which we sit today as the traditional and ancestral home of the Wampanoag nation, including: the Mashpee, Nauset, Nantucket, Pennacook, Pokanoket, Pocasset, Seaconke, and other indigenous nations of Southeast Massachusetts. Without them, we would not have access to this gathering and to this dialogue. We take this opportunity to thank and honor the original caretakers of this land.

History of the University

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth traces its roots to 1895 when the state Legislature chartered the New Bedford Textile School and the Bradford Durfee Textile School in Fall River.

As the region’s economic base shifted from textiles to more diverse manufacturing and service industries, the colleges adapted by diversifying their curricula to respond to the needs of new generations of students. By the middle of the 20th century, the colleges grew rapidly, spurred by the GI Bill and the emerging economic and social advantages of a well-educated citizenry. They evolved into multipurpose institutions that prepared engineers, healthcare workers, teachers, and business leaders.

In 1962, the Legislature created Southeastern Massachusetts Technological Institute (SMTI) by merging the New Bedford Textile School and the Bradford Durfee Textile School. The 710-acre campus in Dartmouth, located between the urban centers of New Bedford and Fall River, was created in 1964. The dramatic campus design was the work of renowned architect Paul Rudolph, then Dean of the Yale University School of Art and Architecture.

The public demand for a comprehensive university provided the momentum in 1969 to transform SMTI into Southeastern Massachusetts University. In 1988, the Swain School of Design merged with the University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, strengthening programs in art and artisanry. In 1991, Southeastern Massachusetts University and the University of Lowell joined the University of Massachusetts, which already had campuses in Amherst, Boston, and Worcester. Thus, Southeastern Massachusetts University became the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Then, in 1994, UMass Dartmouth received approval to offer its first Ph.D. In 2010, the University opened its School of Law, Massachusetts’s only public law school. The school has since earned national American Bar Association accreditation.

Throughout its history, the University has been a national leader in civic engagement. In 2013, it earned a national top 20 ranking among nearly 800 institutions ranked by the Corporation for National Community Service. In 2016, the University achieved formal doctoral institution status when the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education designated the University as a "Doctoral University–Higher Research Activity." The University remains the only Massachusetts research university located south of Boston.

After achieving "Doctoral University– Higher Research Activity" in 2016, UMass Dartmouth’s research enterprise saw continued growth in high-growth areas like marine technology, cybersecurity, STEM education, offshore wind impacts, big data, and climate change. In recognition of the University’s mission fulfillment, U.S. News & World Report ranked the University #102 in the nation and the second highest-ranked University among public universities in New England on their 2025 Top Performers on Social Mobility list. The ranking analyzes institutions that are more successful than others at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of low-income students awarded Pell Grants.

Academic Regalia

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and other institutions of higher learning evolved from the great medieval universities in Europe, such as those in Bologna, founded in 1088, Oxford in 1167, and Cambridge in 1209. At that time, everyone wore long gowns and full-flowing robes. After 1600, these apparel were rarely worn in common life, but the tradition continues during Commencement ceremonies.

Gowns are of three basic patterns: (a) the Bachelor’s gown, of unadorned black and with long pointed sleeves; (b) the Master’s gown, unadorned black but with an oblong sleeve, open at the wrist, square cut with an arc cut away; and (c) the Doctor’s gown, velvet-faced, with bell-shaped sleeves and bars of velvet on each sleeve.

In today’s academic procession, the regalia not only contribute pageantry and color but denote the academic status of their wearers. The cap, or mortarboard, is worn by all academics upon occasion. Only those with an academic degree wear the tassel to their left, and only those with a Doctor’s degree are permitted tassels of gold.

The Mace

The mace, once a terrible instrument of medieval close combat, has come to symbolize the power and authority of an appointed or anointed leader. Many universities, eager to engage in the medieval pageantry reflecting the origins of our earliest universities, have adapted the mace as a ceremonial staff borne at the head of processions traditionally marking the beginning of convocation and commencement.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Mace, created by Richard Creighton, Professor of Fine Arts, is the gift of the late Vice Chancellor for Student Services Emeritus, Celestino Macedo, and the late Special Assistant to the President, Norman Zalkind, LHD ’81.

Student Speaker

Gaspard Baye ‘25

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering & Applied Science

Gaspard Baye, originally from Cameroon, is a PhD candidate in Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Driven by a strong passion for cybersecurity and a vision to create a safer digital world, he came to the United States to further his academic journey. His path to UMass Dartmouth was inspired by his collaboration with ATR Cyber and a pivotal mentorship with Professor Lance Fiondella during an international research initiative.

Gaspard’s research focuses on leveraging deep learning and artificial intelligence to detect and mitigate cybersecurity vulnerabilities at machine speed. He has developed over seven novel AI algorithms for security, presented at top conferences, including DEFCON and IEEE, and has published 10+ peer-reviewed papers with 80+ citations from industry leaders, including banks and research labs. His work has also earned him CVE recognition and Hall of Fame acknowledgments from companies like Nokia and Ford.

Beyond research, Gaspard served as President of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) at UMass Dartmouth during the 2022–2023 academic year. Under his leadership, the chapter increased professional development access, including sending a delegation to the national NSBE convention, where members engaged with 300+ companies and joined a network of over 10,000 engineers. He remains committed to empowering underrepresented communities in STEM and using AI to build resilient, inclusive technologies.

Honorary Degree Recipients

Dr. Michael A. Curry, Esq., President & CEO, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers

Dr. Michael Curry, Esq. is President & CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, which represents 52 health centers, serving over one million patients out of over 300 practice sites. He was named one of the Boston Business Journal’s Power 50 Movement Makers of 2023 and 2022, one of Boston’s Most Influential Men of Color by Get Konnected! and one of Boston Magazine’s 150 Most Influential Bostonians in 2023, and a Bostonian of the Year in 2021 (along with his member health centers) by The Boston Globe and Boston Magazine.

During the early battle with the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Curry was appointed by the Massachusetts Senate to the legislatively created Health Equity Task Force, which he co-chaired, aimed at addressing the health disparities that have been realized and magnified by COVID-19. He was also appointed by then Governor Charlie Baker to the COVID-19 Vaccine Working Group and served on the Department of Public Health’s Health Equity Advisory Group, the City of Boston’s Health Inequity Task Force, and the City of Brockton’s Social Justice Task Force. These experiences led him to co-found the Health Equity Compact (HEC), a collection of over 80 C-suite leaders of color aimed at driving health equity reform in Massachusetts.

He brings over 30 years of experience, which has resulted in civil rights advocacy, health reform, and health equity. He is the immediate past president of the Boston branch of the NAACP (2011-2016), and he has over 25 years of dedicated service to the NAACP at the city, state-area, conference, and national levels. He was elected to the NAACP Board of Directors in 2014, 2017, and 2020 and was recently reelected in 2023 by members from across the country. He serves on the National NAACP’s Executive Committee, and as the appointed Chair of the National Board’s Advocacy & Policy Committee since 2019, Chair of the Constitution and Bylaws Sub-Committee, and Vice-Chair the Political Action and Legislation Committee. His Quantum Leap presentation, which addresses the history of anti-Black racism in America from 1619 to today, is frequently requested.

Dr. Curry earned a Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from New England School of Law, and later graduated from the inaugural class of the Executive Leadership Council’s Pipeline to Leadership Program.

Peter Pereira ('92), Award-winning photographer & photojournalist for the New Bedford Standard-Times

Peter Pereira is an award-winning photographer for the New Bedford Standard-Times. Born in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, he immigrated to New Bedford in 1978 at the age of eight. He graduated from UMass Dartmouth in 1992 with a degree in computer engineering and initially started his own computer company. However, in 1998, he decided to pursue his true passion: photography.

Since then, Pereira's photographs have been featured in numerous prestigious publications, including Time, Newsweek, US News and World Report, Vogue (Australia), The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Observer (UK), Le Monde, The Boston Globe, Courrier International, International Herald Tribune, Harvard Magazine, News Photographer Magazine, Outdoor Magazine, Shutterbug Magazine, MSNBC.com, CNN.com, ABCNews.com, FoxNews.com, and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360.

In 2016, Pereira was awarded the Medal of the Order of Infante D. Henrique by the President of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva. He has been recognized as the National Press Photographers Association - New England Region Photographer of the Year eight times between 2006 and 2016 and was named the New England Newspaper & Press Association Photographer of the Year twelve times between 2004 and 2020. In 2013, he received the Master Photographer award from the New England Society of Newspaper Editors and an Award of Excellence in the China International Press Photo Award.

Scott D. Tingle ('87), NASA Astronaut and U.S. Navy Captain

Scott D. Tingle, raised in Randolph, Massachusetts, is a distinguished NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy Captain. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from UMass Dartmouth's predecessor institution, Southeastern Massachusetts University, in 1987 and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in fluid mechanics and propulsion, from Purdue University in 1988.

Before his commission as a naval officer in 1991, Tingle worked at the Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, California, focusing on propulsion systems. As a naval aviator, he began his operational flying career in 1994 with the Blue Diamonds and deployed aboard the USS Nimitz. Following his graduation from the Navy Test Pilot School in 1998, Tingle contributed to the FA-18E/F Super Hornet program and served with Carrier Air Wing Eleven on the USS Carl Vinson during the initial air response to the September 11, 2001, attacks and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Over his military career, he accumulated more than 4,500 flight hours in 51 aircraft types, 750 carrier arrestments, and 54 combat missions.

Selected by NASA in 2009 as part of the 20th astronaut class, Tingle underwent extensive training, including International Space Station (ISS) systems, spacewalks, and robotics. He served as a Flight Engineer for Expeditions 54 and 55 aboard the International Space Station from December 17, 2017, to June 3, 2018. During this mission, he participated in a 7-hour, 24-minute spacewalk to replace a latching end effector on the station's robotic arm and conducted numerous scientific experiments. In 2020, Tingle was selected as part of NASA's Artemis Team, aiming to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustainable lunar presence by the decade's end.

His contributions have been recognized with several awards, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, NASA Space Flight Medal, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, three Air Medals, and six Navy Commendation Medals. Tingle is married to Raynette Mahelona of Kailua, Hawaii, and they have three children.

Welcome to the Alumni Association!

Congratulations from the UMass Dartmouth Alumni Association! As you determine where the next steps lead you—whether you remain in the SouthCoast, relocate for your dream job, or take some time to decide—a network of 60,000+ UMass Dartmouth alumni worldwide are here to support you. There are many ways for you to be an active and engaged UMassD alum starting today!

Keep in touch through the Corsair Network

Sign up for the Corsair Network where you can connect with UMass Dartmouth alumni for career mentoring, job openings, and more. Create a profile with your updated contact information, including your post-graduate job, to ensure that you receive the latest news for alumni. 

Save the date for Blue & Gold Weekend

Return to UMassD for Blue & Gold Weekend on October 15-19 to celebrate Corsair pride! Join alumni, students, families, faculty, and staff for events across campus, including the Alumni Awards, Corsair Athletics Hall of Fame, tailgate, and more!