University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
School of Law Ceremony

UMass Board of Trustees

• Stephen R. Karam, Chairman
• Mary L. Burns, Vice Chair ’84, Lowell
• Bethany C. Berry '26, Chan Medical School
• David M. Brunelle
• Gerald G. Colella ’78, Lowell
• Abigail E. Cooper '26, Lowell
• Gina M. Cuba '26, Dartmouth
• Jose M. Delgado ’18, Amherst
• Kenneth Fiola, Jr., JD, '95, Dartmouth
• Ava C. Marino, '26, Amherst
• Juana B. Matias ’09, Boston
• Michael V. O’Brien ’88, Amherst
• Noreen C. Okwara, M.D., ’12, Boston; ’17, 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 ’26, Boston
• Elizabeth D. Scheibel, JD
• Joseph C. Sullivan ’81, Amherst
• Steven A. Tolman ’99, Boston
• Marcellette Gaillard-Gay Williams, PhD
• Charles F. Wu, MBA
• Stephen K. Zrike, Jr., EdD

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.

School of Law Vision

UMass Law is the Commonwealth’s public law school. We are committed to providing an excellent, affordable, and accessible legal education. Our collegial community respects and promotes diversity in identity and ideas. Our program balances legal theory, doctrine, skills, experience, and professionalism. We strive to graduate competent, ethical, and creative professionals who exercise sound judgment. Our involvement in the legal community enables our students to thrive in a changing profession and to serve the needs of their future clients. We advance justice within and beyond the Commonwealth through our research, writing, teaching, learning, practice, and engagement with the profession.

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

Paul Riley ‘26

Paul Leo Riley (' 26) was raised in Dedham, Massachusetts. At home, Paul was taught that if you had something to give, it was your responsibility to give it. Paul earned his B.A. in Political Science from Saint Joseph's College of Maine in 2020. Prior to enrolling at UMass Law, Paul worked in Election Administration in Newton, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine. As a Public Interest Law Fellow, Paul is committed to providing meaningful service to others.

Paul deeply enjoyed every aspect of being a law student. He mentored students as a Teaching Assistant for Professor Philip Cleary's Torts class and an Academic Fellow under the guidance of Professor Amy Vaughan-Thomas. Paul served his colleagues as the Executive Vice President of the SBA and the Editor-in-Chief of the UMass Law Review. Thanks to the vision of Dean Sam Panarella and Professor Richard Peltz-Steele, Paul embarked on the inaugural Lisbon, Portugal, Study Abroad program in May of 2024. Paul served as a 3:03 Certified Student Practitioner on behalf of indigent criminal defense clients at Launie & Marino in Westwood, Massachusetts, and later as a Judicial Intern at the Norfolk County Superior Court in his hometown of Dedham, Massachusetts, with Justice Michael P. Doolin.

Paul dedicates his remarks to the following: first to his friends and classmates in the Class of 2026 on a job well done; to countless educators and mentors who have empowered and refined him in preparation for this day and the days to come; to his parents Sue and Steve who were his first and perfect role models; to his four older brothers and their families, Steven and Jenny, Danny and Victoria, Jimmy and Rachel and Jason and Mary; to his girlfriend Kerry for unwavering support and boundless love; to his nieces Cami and Addison; to his nephews Cormac and Cooper; and in a special way to baby Quinn, who Jimmy and Rachel will bring into this world just in time to see Uncle Paul receive his bar results. After graduation, Paul plans to serve as a Trial Attorney in the Public Defender Division at the Committee for Public Counsel Services.

School of Law Graduates

Dean Sam Panarella, JD

Honors designations – pending final grades

*** Summa Cum Laude

**   Magna Cum Laude

*     Cum Laude

Recognition

Academic Fellows

Yaleth Elisa Calderon

Kelsey McPhee Delgado

Alyssa M. Nguyen

Aramis L. Ramos 

Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity Award

Kelsey McPhee Delgado

Public Interest Law Fellows

Jennifer Muneera Adams

Sarah M. Benites

Cinnamon L. Bohm

Tess Frances Buschmann

Alley Zin Xuan Chan

Robert F. Coady III

Michael J. Fallon

Ariette V. Gradney

Michelle Margaret Kordis Hatfield

Rachel Hoyos

Betsy Ann Huey

Seth Leary

Haley J. McCurry

Lilia Moscalu

Alyssa M. Nguyen

McKenna Plotner

Laura Rodriguez Alfonso

Christopher J. Sanacore

Timothy W. Trocchio

Dream Alore Marie Whitaker

Naydin Natasha Zepeda

Law Review Board

Editor-In-Chief

Morgan Leigh Kloster

Managing Editors

Christopher J. Sanacore

Naydin Natasha Zepeda 

Articles Editor

Rachel Hoyos

Business Editor

Peyton Elise Crume

Notes Editor

Kelsey McPhee Delgado

Technology Editor

Yaleth Elisa Calderon

Conference Editor

Emma Alexandra Darcy 

Lead Editors

Sarah M. Benites

Marcella Georgi

Hellen Mery Popa 

Staff Editors

Lauren A. Correa

Jordan Leigh Gravett

Jack M. Lovely

Haley J. McCurry

Laura Rodriguez Alfonso 

“Servant of Justice Award” for performing 100 hours of pro bono

Marcella Georgi

Jillian M. Hansen

Anna M. Harvey

Savannaha Lima

Echo Lin R. Love

Margaret Marie Martin

Andrew R. Murphy

Tiffany Trott-McKenna

Amanda A. Vainio

“Leader for Justice Award” for performing 200 or more hours of pro bono or community service

Jennifer Muneera Adams

Sarah M. Benites 

Cinnamon L. Bohm

Ashley Dahae Bonnette-Kim

Tess Frances Buschmann

Victoria Anne Calia

Alley Zin Xuan Chan 

Robert F. Coady III 

Lauren A. Correa 

Michael J. Fallon 

Ariette V. Gradney 

Michelle Margaret Kordis Hatfield 

Rachel Hoyos 

Betsy Ann Huey 

Seth Leary 

Haley J. McCurry 

Lilia Moscalu 

Alyssa M. Nguyen

Sean M. Perrine 

McKenna Plotner 

Hellen Mery Popa 

Laura Rodriguez Alfonso 

Christopher J. Sanacore

Timothy W. Trocchio 

Elizabeth R. West 

Dream Alore Marie Whitaker

Phillip Humberto Wullschleger 

Naydin Natasha Zepeda

Faculty and Staff Marshals

Chief Marshal

Professor Philip E. Cleary, JD

Faculty Marshal

Professor Dwight G. Duncan, JD

Staff Marshals

Sandra Leger Silva

Nancy Moniz

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 Blue & Gold Network

Sign up for the Blue & Gold 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 in October 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!