Senator Libby Mitchell to Deliver UMA's Commencement Address on May 10th
On Saturday, May 10th at 10:00 AM at the Augusta Civic Center, the University of Maine at Augusta will hold its 40th Commencement Exercises. Approximately 600 graduates will receive their degrees.
This year's commencement address will be delivered by Senate Majority Leader Libby Mitchell. First elected to the Maine Legislature in 1974 as a member of the House of Representatives, Libby Mitchell became Maine's first female House Majority Leader in 1980 and first female Speaker of the House in 1996.
After a hiatus from service in the Legislature, Libby Mitchell won a seat as a Maine State Senator in 2004 representing Senate District 24. As Senate Chair of the Legislature's Education Committee, she spearheaded the passage of major legislation on school funding and higher education and helped lead the effort that kept UMA as a separate and strong part of the state university system. In 2006 she was elected Senator Majority Leader for the 123rd Maine Legislature.
Libby Mitchell lives in Vassalboro with her husband Jim, a Judge of Probate of Kennebec County. They have four adult children.
Also at Commencement:
- Scott Bullock, President and CEO of MaineGeneral Health, will be awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters. After serving as President and CEO of Noble Hospital in Westfield Massachusetts, Scott Bullock arrived in Waterville in 1991 to become President and CEO of Mid-Maine Medical Center. He continued as President and CEO as Mid Maine Medical Center became MaineGeneral Medical Center in 1997 and then finally MaineGeneral Health in 1999.
- Gary Crocker will be awarded a Distinguished Service Award. A Maine educator and humorist, Gary Crocker currently serves as Director of State and Federal Programs for the Maine Community College System. He also sits on UMA's Board of Visitors.
- UMA will present two Distinguished Student Awards, UMA's top student honor. The names of the student awards winners are not announced until Commencement.