Photos from the Spectacular UMass Amherst Graduate Ceremonies

The day could not have been more perfect with the sun shining, flowering trees blooming,  and with gentle breezes.

Families and friends traveled from across the globe to celebrate with those who received the PhDs and Masters degrees at the Mullins Center at UMass Amherst today.


I very much enjoyed hearing our Chancellor's wonderful speech as well as the speech of the honorary degree recipient -- Mark E. Russell of Raytheon who spoke of persistence in one's endeavors  and in doing great, sustained  work so that you earn trust. I also very much appreciated him highlighting the terrific work that the NSF Engineering Research Center CASA is doing (and I sat next to its Director, Dr. David McLaughlin) in designing radars for extreme weather prediction, including tornadoes. There is a nice writeup about the graduate ceremony here.

The ceremony flowed smoothly and the pageantry was spectacular.

I especially wish to congratulate my PhD student who became Dr. Min Yu today and whose family traveled from China to recognize her and to celebrate with her. Congrats also to Dr. Davit Kachatryan who came from DC to march in the ceremonies. He had received his PhD a while back but came today since he promised his family that he would march.

Several of our doctoral students in Management Science, in Organizational Behavior, and in Strategic Management, and Finance, at the Isenberg School, came out to support the graduates (and to get a sense of what it will be like when they receive their PhD degrees). Special thanks to my doctoral students, Dong "Michelle" Li and Amir Masoumi, for taking numerous photos today.

Congratulations to all the graduate degree recipients. Your hard work and scholarship were recognized today.

With best wishes for very successful, satisfying,  and worthwhile professional careers!

Tomorrow I will be back at the Mullins Center at UMass Amherst to take part in the Isenberg School of Management undergraduate graduation ceremonies.