UMass Boston

Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll will deliver the keynote address at the university’s 56th commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 23 on the UMass Boston Campus Center Lawn overlooking the Boston Harbor. Driscoll is the 73rd Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and together with Governor Maura Healey, comprises the first all-women executive team to lead Massachusetts.

Since taking office in January 2023, Governor Healey and Lt. Governor Driscoll’s top priority has been building a Massachusetts that’s competitive, equitable, and affordable for every family, worker, and business. The Healey-Driscoll administration has already launched a groundbreaking new program on college accessibility, MassReconnect, which offers Massachusetts residents age 25 and older the opportunity to attend community college for free. Their administration has also made climate resilience a priority, establishing the state’s first Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience, among other initiatives.

Driscoll was elected the City of Salem’s first woman mayor in 2006. The daughter of a Navy chef from Lynn and an accountant’s assistant from Trinidad, Driscoll spent her childhood in a number of states, before attending Salem State University.

“It is a privilege and an honor to have Lt. Governor Driscoll address our graduates,” said Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco. “As a graduate of public higher education, she understands the importance of making public higher education more accessible so we can empower the next generation of leaders, innovators, and creators. We look forward to welcoming her to Boston’s public research university.”

"As Boston's premier public research university, UMass Boston is an integral partner in our administration's efforts to strengthen our economy, especially in cutting-edge sectors like AI, nursing, and clean energy," said Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll. "With more than 80 percent of UMass Boston graduates remaining in Massachusetts for their careers, I look forward to sharing with them how we are ensuring Massachusetts is the best place to live, work and grow."

Degrees will be conferred to approximately 3,757 undergraduates, graduate, and doctoral students in the Class of 2024. For more information on commencement, visit www.umb.edu/commencement.