The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth announced that National Public Radio Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg, Southern Poverty Law Center Founder and Chief Legal Counsel Morris Dees, and MacArthur Foundation Managing Director Cecilia Conrad will receive honorary degrees and address the Class of 2017 at the university’s 117th Commencement exercises May 13-15.

Former Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza, who grew up in Dartmouth, and author and LGBT activist Jennifer Finney Boylan will receive the Chancellor’s Medal in recognition of their exemplary service to society.

Nearly 2,400 members of the Class of 2017 will receive undergraduate, graduate and law school diplomas during Commencement ceremonies.

The undergraduate and graduate ceremonies will be held at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield to accommodate the growing number of graduates and their families attending the ceremonies. The School of Law ceremony will be held at the Main Auditorium on the UMass Dartmouth campus.

The decision to move the undergraduate and graduate ceremonies was made in consultation with student and faculty leadership as the ceremonies have outgrown the 4,000-seat on-campus amphitheater. Over the past few years, UMass Dartmouth has been forced to limit the number of family members allowed to attend the ceremonies and split up the colleges into smaller ceremonies. This meant many classmates were unable to attend the same ceremony together. The move to the Xfinity Center will also allow for much improved security, parking and traffic flow.

The full schedule is as follows:

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Xfinity Center, 855 South Main Street, Mansfield

10 a.m. Graduate Commencement

Honorary Degree Recipient and Commencement Speaker: Cecilia Conrad, Managing Director, MacArthur Foundation

Chancellor’s Medal Recipient: Jennifer Finney Boylan, author and LGBT activist

2:30 p.m. Undergraduate Commencement

Honorary Degree Recipient and Commencement Speaker: Nina Totenberg, Legal Affairs Correspondent, National Public Radio

Chancellor’s Medal Recipient: Pete Souza, former Chief Official White House Photographer

Monday, May 15, 2017

Main Auditorium, Campus Center, UMass Dartmouth

285 Old Westport Road, Dartmouth

10 a.m. School of Law Commencement

Honorary Degree Recipient and Commencement Speaker: Morris Dees, Founder and Chief Legal Counsel, Southern Poverty Law Center