In addition to the undergraduates, the university awarded 163 master's degrees; 7 doctoral degrees and 159 law degrees.
Western New England University's Commencement exercises for the class of 2013 was held Saturday at the Alumni Healthful Living Center. Here students file in past family and friends starting the ceremony. SPRINGFIELD - He lost part of his index finger in a farming accident in Poland when he was 12. It took five years for him to get an associate's degree while working at a factory once he came to the United States, and three more years to earn his bachelor's degree in business management.
Stepping out of the graduation line for a moment at Western New England University on Saturday in his royal blue robe, Andrzej Rutkowski, 42, and a married father of two, reflected on the finish line.
"I had headaches for a long time. But now I feel: I got it. It wasn't easy but I got it," said Rutkowski, among 547 undergraduates to receive degrees on Saturday at the the campus in the Sixteen Acres neighborhood.
Rutkowski said he types with three fingers and learned English through classes when he first arrived in the country. He still tries to perfect it with the help of his professors and American wife. Rutkowski minored in accounting and hopes to move from the factory position to a staff accounting position.
In addition to the undergraduates, the university awarded 163 master's degrees; 7 doctoral degrees and 159 law degrees.
Through no fault of its own, Western New England got nicked by a national controversy. Its Law School commencement speaker, Lois G. Lerner, director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS, backed out in the wake of a scandal involving the agency allegedly targeting conservatives for audits.
"Her reason was singular: this event was meant to be a celebration. She didn't want all the other (controversy) to interfere with that," said Barbara A. Moffat, vice president of marketing and communications. "When it really comes down to it, what matters most to students is to come across that stage in front of their family, friends, classmates and professors to receive that diploma. That's the moment."
Nonetheless, Lerner, a 1978 alumna of the law school, would have been one heck of an interesting speaker, given recent events. Moffat said the school checked in with Lerner on Wednesday and learned she was retreating from the engagement.
Lerner oversees about 900 employees tasked with reviewing applications for tax-exempt status, primarily out of the Cincinnati, Ohio, office where the controversy started. She is due to appear at a hearing on May 22 before the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee which is conducting an investigation into the IRS audits. She has been portrayed as an "apolitical" whistle-blower who flagged the pattern.
Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller resigned amid the controversy; President Obama said. He denounced the practice, calling it "outrageous" if it is true. The scandal broke amid a cluster of alleged Department of Justice embarrassments including revelations that the department potentially improperly seized Associated Press phone records.
The Law School commencement went without a keynote speaker.
The keynote speaker for the undergraduate ceremony was Dr. Alan Chartock, president and CEO of WAMC/Northeeast Public Radio. He established Western New England University as the station's Springfield bureau.