by Profess Jen Lynds, UTIMES Advisor
Four hundred graduates of the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) donned umbrellas and bespoke mortarboards while receiving their degrees during the institution’s two commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 10. One thousand two hundred seventy-eight students graduated from UMPI that day, a number too substantial to accommodate in a single ceremony. The graduating cohort reached double the number of students who graduated the previous year.
Notwithstanding the persistent rain, graduates proceeded from the Campus Center to Wieden Auditorium, while UMPI faculty and staff flanked the pathway to applaud them. The setup paralleled one enacted at Convocation four years prior, when instructors introduced students to campus, congratulating them as they entered the event with their peers.
UMPI President Raymond Rice awarded degrees for the 2024-2025 academic year to 366 undergraduates and 34 graduate students during the in-person event. Approximately 900 additional undergraduate and graduate students will appear in UMPI’s virtual graduation ceremony.
