Roland Merullo to Keynote WNEU Undergraduate Commencement
SPRINGFIELD — Western New England University will hold its 2016 undergraduate commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 21 at 2 p.m. in the Alumni Healthful Living Center on campus. The ceremony will include the awarding of approximately 600 bachelor’s degrees.
Roland Merullo, author of In Revere, In Those Days, will deliver the keynote address. Merullo is the author of 20 books, including 12 novels, two memoirs, and numerous essays that have appeared in publications including the New York Times, Yankee, Good Housekeeping, and Forbes.
Merullo has served in the Peace Corps in Micronesia and worked for the U.S. Information Agency in the former Soviet Union. He also taught creative writing and literature at Bennington College and Amherst College. In addition, he has been a writer in Residence at Miami Dade College and North Shore Community College. He has spoken at hundreds of colleges, conferences, and civic organizations.
His 2003 novel In Revere, In Those Days was a Booklist Editor’s Choice and Maria Thomas Award winner. Breakfast with Buddha was nominated for the Dublin IMPAC International Literary Award, and American Savior won the Honor Award in fiction from the Massachusetts Center for the Book. Revere Beach Boulevard was recently named one of New England’s top 100 essential books by the Boston Globe.
Western New England University will provide live streaming video of the commencement ceremonies. The feed will be available at wne.edu/commencement.
