University of Maine at Presque Isle President Ray Rice announced on April 24 that Sandra “Sandy” Gauvin, a longtime educator and co-founder of the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative, will serve as the commencement speaker for the university’s 117th Commencement Exercises. Both Gauvin and David Watson, a Harvard-trained attorney and UMPI alumnus, will receive Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees during ceremonies scheduled for Saturday, May 9.
The event marks only the second time in UMPI’s history that two in-person graduation ceremonies will be held on Commencement Day. The ceremonies are set for 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., with Gauvin delivering an address at each.
“We are so honored to welcome Sandy back to the institution she has championed for decades, and to recognize David’s remarkable journey from Aroostook County to the heights of the legal profession,” Rice said. “Both Sandy and David embody what it means to invest in people and place—and we know their examples will inspire our Class of 2026 as they set out to make their own mark on the world.”
Gauvin graduated from UMPI in 1977 with a degree in Elementary Education before teaching for twenty-five years across several schools in central Aroostook County. After retiring from teaching in 2003, she co-founded the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative (AAI), which provided scholarships and support services to more than six hundred local high school graduates attending regional higher education institutions. Her ongoing commitment is reflected through involvement with multiple nonprofit boards as well as continued support via the Raynold & Sandra Gauvin Family Scholarship Fund at UMPI.
Watson, who was born in Westfield, Maine, graduated from UMPI as class Salutatorian in 1985 before earning his law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School three years later. He built a distinguished career specializing in private investment funds law at Goodwin Procter LLP while also lecturing at MIT’s Sloan School of Business. His achievements have been recognized by professional publications such as Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and The Best Lawyers in America. Watson established a scholarship fund at UMPI supporting students from Aroostook County pursuing higher education.
The university’s commencement exercises will take place inside Wieden Gymnasium with both ceremonies available via livestream on UMPI’s YouTube channel starting thirty minutes prior to each event.
