UMM To Hold 106th Commencement

University of Maine at Machias to Hold 106th Annual Commencement
MACHIAS, Maine — The University of Maine at Machias will hold its 106th Commencement Ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 13 in the Reynolds Center gymnasium. Eighty nine students will be graduating with degrees or program certificates.
The keynote speaker will be Charles Harrington, director of the Maine Sea Coast Mission’s EdGE program, an adventure education after-school and summer program that serves more than 700 children at twelve schools in communities from Sullivan to Machias. He will also be receiving an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Harrington attended Wichita State University and was then drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1972. He served in the Arlington, Massachusetts, Public School System and was a Harvard University Football Coach from 1980-1990. Harrington has a long history of serving others. He was a Peace Corps volunteer and worked to provide recreation for underprivileged youth in Boston. He was also a national trainer for the Project Adventure Learning Center for 20 years, and served as director of the Kieve Affective Education Leadership School at Camp Kieve in Nobleboro.
Also addressing the graduates will be Dr. James H. Page, the Chancellor of the University of Maine system, and M. Michelle Hood, a University of Maine System Trustee.
Page was appointed Chancellor by the University of Maine System Board of Trustees in March 2012 to lead their repositioning of the University System to meet Maine’s 21st century higher education needs. Prior to becoming Chancellor, Page was principal and CEO of the James W. Sewall Company. Page is the first University of Maine System Chancellor to be born in Maine or to have been educated at one of the System’s universities. He was born and raised in Caribou, and obtained his BA in History from the University of Maine at Fort Kent. Subsequently he completed Master’s work in the philosophy of physics from St. Andrews University, Scotland, and obtained his Ph.D. in the philosophical foundations of mathematics from MIT.
As President and CEO of Eastern Maine Healthcare System, Hood focuses on healthcare policy and design models at the state and national levels, positioning EMHS to be successful in a rapidly changing healthcare environment. She is an active member of Board of Trustees for the American Hospital Association and past chair of the Maine Hospital Association board.
Charles Rudelitch of Harrington is receiving the UMM Distinguished Service Award.  Inez Lombardo of Machias is receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award and Will Tuell of East Machias is being named Young Alumni Award.
Rudelitch is the Executive Director of the Sunrise County Economic Council, a non-profit organization that works to facilitate the creation of jobs and prosperity in Washington County. Prior to joining SCEC, Charles served as the staff attorney for Pine Tree Legal in Hancock & Washington counties. With his husband, Rudelitch owns and operates a baking company in Harrington with his husband, and, with other members of his extended family, is a partner in a family farm.
Lombardo graduated from UMM in 2007. A New Jersey native, Inez worked in market research in New York City for 20 years before moving to Maine and enrolling at UMM in 2000. While still a student, Inez participated in a small local buying club, bringing local food to Machias residents. Upon graduation, Inez was awarded a Gracie Grant from the Maine Community Foundation to focus on increasing access to local food. She founded Machias Marketplace in 2010, a year-round farmers’ market that created a link between local growers and the community. Machias Marketplace began with 15 customers and now has more than 150, with annual sales of $135,000.
Will Tuell of East Machias graduated cum laude from UMM ’01 with a degree in history. Tuell was elected to represent the Machias Bay area plus Lubec and Eastport in the Maine House of Representatives in 2014. He serves on the Legislature’s Marine Resources committee, and has also served as a selectman in the Town of East Machias since September 2009. Prior to joining the Legislature, Tuell worked as a freelance writer for the Downeast Coastal Press and as a publicist for the Sunrise County Economic Council in Machias for fifteen years.
Matthew Cole is UMM’s 2017 Ivy Orator. The Ivy Oration is an honored tradition at UMM. Each spring a member of the senior class, chosen by his or her peers, presents an oration at the Honors Convocation and Commencement on behalf of the graduating seniors.  This oration honors their UMM friendships, the wisdom and knowledge that they have gained during college, and their hopes for the future.  Cole graduated from Piscataquis Community High School in 2011. He will be graduating with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Recreation and Tourism Management with a concentration in Natural Resources. Cole has accepted a job working at Bryant Pond 4-H camps as a Conservation Education Coordinator.
Members of UMM’s area communities are welcome to attend.