The University of Maine’s 2025 commencement ceremonies for graduate and undergraduate students will be Saturday and Sunday, May 10-11 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
The Graduate School ceremony begins at 6 p.m. on May 10, featuring an address by Concordia University President and Vice Chancellor Graham Carr (‘83G). During the ceremony, 462 graduate students are expected to attend and receive advanced degrees. In total, UMaine will confer more than 815 master’s and doctoral degrees, a high point in its 160 year history.
The 223rd undergraduate commencement ceremonies will be held at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on May 11, with 1,421 undergraduates expected to participate. The Sunday ceremonies are ticketed events, with nearly 10,000 guests expected to attend. They will be livestreamed on the UMaine commencement website, on which links to view each ceremony will be available on the days of their respective events.
The morning ceremony on May 11 is for students in the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences, the Maine Business School and the Division of Lifelong Learning. The afternoon ceremony is for students in the Maine College of Engineering and Computing, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Education and Human Development.
Robert Dana (’80), longtime dean of students who retired earlier this year, will deliver an address during the two undergraduate ceremonies. An Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters will be conferred to UMaine’s own George H. Denton, a multi-generational leader in glacial research and climate science education, during the morning ceremony.
The 2025 valedictorian is Meg Caron of Bangor, who is pursuing dual degrees in French and microbiology with a second science major in molecular and cellular biology. The 2025 co-salutatorians are psychology major Alexandria Banou Morgan of Perry, who is also minoring in neuroscience and philosophy, and microbiology major Dominic Needham of Veazie. Caron will speak at both ceremonies. Needham will address graduates during the morning ceremony, and Morgan will speak at the afternoon ceremony. A news release about them is available online.
Many of this year’s 10 outstanding graduating students are also expected to attend their respective ceremonies on Sunday. Learn more about them online.
The 2025 Distinguished Maine Professor Mark Brewer, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, will address graduates at all three commencement ceremonies. In addition, the 2025 Presidential Award winners will be recognized at each ceremony. The Presidential Outstanding Teaching Award recipients are Gayle Kraus, professor of marine ecology at the University of Maine at Machias, and Melissa Maginnis, associate professor of microbiology. The Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award recipient is Nick Giudice, professor of spatial computing and VEMI Lab founder and chief research scientist. The Presidential Public Engagement Achievement Award recipient is Ryder Scott, executive director of UMaine 4-H Centers. The Presidential Innovation Award recipient is Brian Beal, professor of marine ecology at UMaine Machias and director of the Marine Science Field Station. And the Black Bear Award for Extraordinary Impact recipient is Jake Ward, vice president of strategic partnerships, innovation, resources and engagement.
Tips for attending all UMaine commencement ceremonies are available at umaine.edu/commencement.
UMaine Machias will hold its 114th commencement ceremony for 42 graduates at 10 a.m. on May 10 in the Reynolds Center Gymnasium. In total, UMaine Machias will confer 52 bachelor’s degrees, six associate’s degrees and 12 certificates. The event will also be livestreamed. Visit the UMaine Machias commencement website for additional information.
