The 49th Annual Commencement Exercises for the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School will be held on campus on Sunday, June 5, 2022 .

UMass Chan Medical School will celebrate on June 5 the accomplishments of the Classes of 2022 at its 49th Commencement. Also, honorary degrees will be awarded at the ceremony to Cori Bargmann, PhD, head of science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, and the Torsten N. Wiesel Professor at The Rockefeller University; Paula A. Johnson, MD, MPH, president of Wellesley College and a preeminent cardiologist, scientist and educator; and James O'Connell, MD, MTheol, president of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, where his commitment to caring for homeless individuals earned him a reputation as the city's "street doctor."

Dr. Bargmann will deliver the Commencement address. The event will take place on the UMass Chan Medical School campus, with more than 300 students from the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences expected to receive degrees.

Commencement at UMass Chan is characterized by traditional ceremonial splendor. The academic procession—one of the oldest university traditions—is led by the faculty recipient of the Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Service carrying the University mace.

The academic regalia worn by students and faculty originated at universities in the Middle Ages. The lining of the hood represents the university by its colors; maroon and white signify the University of Massachusetts. The border of the hood represents the academic discipline in which the degree is earned: apricot for nursing, blue for philosophy and green for medicine.

Greetings from the University Board of Trustees, the University president and the chancellor open the ceremony. The presentation of honorary degrees to "persons of great accomplishment and high ethical standards who exemplify the ideals of the University of Massachusetts" sets the stage for the Commencement address. The ceremony culminates with the awarding of academic degrees.