Barack Obama at UMass Boston
With the historic election this week of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama as the next president of the United States, some of the hallways on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Boston were abuzz recalling the president elect’s visit here in 2006.
At the June 2, 2006, UMass Boston Commencement, Sen. Obama received an honorary doctor of laws degree “for advancing and protecting the interests of the less fortunate, for adherence to a political credo that transcends both party and race, and for his thoughtful and farsighted contributions to the nation’s principal lawmaking body,” according to a press release at the time. Sen. Obama also gave the keynote address at the commencement, a video and transcript of which are available on the UMass Boston website.
Sen. Obama’s rise to the national stage took a dramatic step forward when he visited Boston in 2004 to deliver a stirring address at the Democratic National Convention. His visit to the UMass Boston campus two years later was equally memorable for the students, faculty, and staff who attended.