NFL Commissioner to Address UMass Lowell Commencement. - Politics & Government Week

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell will address the University of Massachusetts Lowell's Commencement on Saturday, May 29 at 10 a.m. at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.

Goodell will accept a posthumous Doctor of Humane Letters degree for his father, U.S. Sen. Charles Goodell, a Republican elected to Congress in 1959 and appointed to the Senate following the 1968 assassination of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. He established a solid record on issues including civil rights, the war on poverty and education.

'Roger Goodell is an inspirational role model who can share his personal story of working his way up from intern to leader of an organization that today oversees the diverse interests of the most successful sports league in the world,' said Chancellor Marty Meehan. 'Our students will benefit from the examples set by Roger and his father, Charles, both of whom have led without compromising their beliefs.'

Other Doctor of Humane Letters degree recipients are Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author; Richard Goodwin, presidential speechwriter and adviser to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson; Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, education scholar and author; and Alan Lightman, physicist and author of international bestseller 'Einstein's Dreams.'

Goodell, the honorary degree recipients and Bonnie Comley '81, award-winning Broadway producer and Distinguished Alumna, will also speak at a Commencement Eve Celebration. The gala benefits scholarships, including new endowments in honor of Charles Goodell and Richard and Doris Kearns Goodwin, on Friday, May 28 at 6 p.m. at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center. It will be preceded by a 4 p.m. program with the Goodwins - 'A Conversation with Doris and Dick.' Both events are open to the public.

More on Commencement available at www.uml.edu/commencement.

UMass Lowell, with a national reputation in science, engineering and technology, is committed to educating students for lifelong success in a diverse world and conducting research and outreach activities that sustain the economic, environmental and social health of the region. UML offers its 13,000 students more than 120 degree choices, internships, five-year combined bachelor's to master's programs and doctoral studies in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Management, the School of Health and Environment, and the Graduate School of Education. www.uml.edu.

Keywords: AT&T, Conservation, Ecology, Education, Engineering, Entertainment, Environment, Football, Government, Politics, Republicans, Sports, Technology, Telecommunications, UMass Lowell, University.

This article was prepared by Politics & Government Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2010, Politics & Government Week via VerticalNews.com.