Merrimack College’s honorary degree recipients and distinguished speakers for Commencement 2025 represent one of the most renowned groups of honorees in the College’s history.
The five accomplished individuals, who will also address Merrimack’s 2,200 graduates at school-specific ceremonies held on Thursday, May 15, and Friday, May 16, boast local connections and astronomical achievements.
This year’s honorees are Sunita Williams, NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy Captain (Retired), UMass Chan Medical School Professor Emerita Carol Curtin, New Balance President & CEO Joe Preston ’84, P’17, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative CEO Carolyn Kirk P’19 and Catholic Charities Boston President & CEO Kelley Tuthill.
“We are honored to recognize this incredibly accomplished group at Commencement 2025,” said Merrimack College President Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D. “From the far reaches of the cosmos to the feet of world-class athletes to the care and support of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities to the technology and AI sectors of Massachusetts to the communities of Greater Boston, this year’s honorary degree recipients’ achievements not only embody Merrimack’s Augustinian Catholic values, but also serve as tremendous examples for our Class of 2025.”
Merrimack College’s Commencement begins on Thursday, May 15, with the School of Arts and Sciences ceremony, where Williams, who spent more than nine months on the International Space Station, will address the graduating class. That ceremony will be followed by the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, where Dr. Curtin will give the keynote address.
Friday’s festivities kick off with the Girard School of Business ceremony, where Preston will give the address, followed by the School of Engineering and Computational Sciences, where Kirk will be honored. Commencement will come to a close later that afternoon with the School of Education and Social Policy ceremony, where Dr. Tuthill will be the featured speaker and honoree.
All school-based Commencement ceremonies are held in Lawler Arena. For more information, visit the Commencement website.
Below, learn more about Merrimack College’s 2025 honorary degree recipients and distinguished speakers:
Sunita Williams
NASA Astronaut and U.S. Navy Captain, Ret.
Sunita (Suni) L. Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998 and is a veteran of three space missions. She has completed 62 hours and 6 minutes of total spacewalk time over the course of her career, the most of any female astronaut, and fourth on NASA’s all-time list. Williams has logged 608 days in space over her three flights.
In June 2024, she and Butch Wilmore became the first crew to flight test the new orbital spacecraft, the Boeing’s Starliner, arriving at the International Space Station on June 6. What was originally slated to be an eight-day test flight mission became a nine-month stay on the ISS due to mechanical issues. Williams and Wimore returned home in March 2025.
Williams received her commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy from the United States Naval Academy in May 1987. After a six-month temporary assignment at the Naval Coastal System Command, she received her designation as a Basic Diving Officer and then reported to Naval Aviation Training Command. She was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1989. She made overseas deployments to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Persian Gulf in support of Desert Shield and Operation Provide Comfort. She has logged more than 3000 flight hours in over 30 different aircraft.
Her first two space missions took place in 2006-07 and 2012. During those missions, Williams served as a flight engineer and an ISS commander. She and her crews conducted research and performed technical demonstrations aboard the ISS orbiting laboratory. She is also the first person to run a marathon in space when she ran the Boston Marathon on the ISS treadmill.
Carol Curtin, Ph.D.
Professor Emerita, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
Carol Curtin, Ph.D., LICSW, is a Professor Emerita in the Departments of Family Medicine & Community Health and Psychiatry and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.
Her primary affiliation is with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at the medical school. She also maintains a faculty appointment at the Moakley Center for Public Management at Suffolk University.
Dr. Curtin has over 40 years of experience working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and psychiatric disorders and their families in a variety of settings and using a variety of clinical modalities. Originally trained as a clinical social worker, she has worked and directed programs in clinical, academic and research settings.
For over 10 years, she was the Director and Principal Investigator of the Bureau of Maternal Child Health-funded Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program, which provides graduate-level interdisciplinary training to improve the health of children and youth with developmental disabilities. The LEND program prepares trainees from diverse professional backgrounds to assume leadership roles in their respective fields, to serve as agents of systems change and to deliver high-quality, evidence-based interdisciplinary services.
Dr. Curtin’s research has focused on health promotion with an emphasis on identifying unique modifiable risk factors for elevated weight in populations of children and adults with disabilities and devising tailored interventions to meet their needs. She has served as PI or Co-Investigator on numerous private and federally-funded projects that have included epidemiological studies on the prevalence of elevated weight in disabled populations, weight loss and physical activity interventions for adolescents with intellectual disabilities and autism, and observational studies on physical activity, dietary patterns and parenting practices in children with a variety of intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Dr. Curtin is the sibling and aunt of several beloved neurodivergent adults who have inspired her career and enriched her life.
She earned her doctorate from UMass Chan Medical School, her master’s from Boston University and her bachelor’s from Trinity College.
Joe Preston ’84, P’17
President & CEO, New Balance
Joe Preston is President & CEO of New Balance, the leading $7.8 billion global sportswear brand with more than 12,000 associates and 3,200 retail locations worldwide. Privately held New Balance is recognized for its values-led culture and long-standing commitment to domestic manufacturing.
Preston is a dynamic and accomplished President & CEO with a demonstrable track record of strong leadership and an innate understanding of the global consumer retail and manufacturing industry.
He began his career at New Balance in 1995 and has 30 years of experience in the footwear and apparel industry, where his success has emanated from leveraging innovation and insights on today’s consumer to drive unparalleled growth in challenging times. His tenure at New Balance includes seven years in international roles and a decade spent overseeing the company’s commercial business, affording Preston firsthand experience with every aspect of product creation from design to manufacturing to marketing and merchandising.
Before assuming the role of President & CEO in 2018, Preston had served as Vice President, Asia Pacific; Executive Vice President International; Executive Vice President, Global Product & Marketing and Chief Commercial Officer.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Merrimack College and an MBA from Babson Graduate School of Business.
Preston serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for The Sports Museum, a non-profit educational institute that builds character in kids through the power of sports. He is an Executive Committee Board member of the American Apparel & Footwear Association and a member of the Board of the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
He was recently named Board Chair for the Two Ten Footwear Foundation and serves as Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable. He previously served as a member of the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy & Negotiations.
Carolyn Kirk P’19
CEO, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
Carolyn A. Kirk has served as CEO of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative since February 2019. Kirk has earned a reputation as a fierce advocate for the state’s tech and innovation sector by building strong partnerships across industry, academia and government.
Kirk oversees a team of almost 90 employees, more than 60 percent of whom are women. In 2024, Kirk was ranked No. 72 in the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts, a list created by The Women’s Edge and published in the Women & Power issue of “The Boston Globe Magazine.”
Under Kirk’s leadership, MassTech has spearheaded investments statewide and regionally across several critical industries including advanced manufacturing, bluetech/marinetech, cybersecurity, digital health, fintech, robotics and quantum computing.
Notably, in 2023, Kirk steered the agency through a highly competitive process that secured $19.7 million to establish the Northeast Microelectronics Hub (NEMC), a regional Department of Defense Microelectronics Commons Hub funded through the federal CHIPS and Science Act. And in 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed the Mass Leads Act, which entrusted Kirk and MassTech with $100 million to establish the Massachusetts AI Hub.
For more than a decade before becoming MassTech CEO, Kirk was a government leader at the local and state levels. She served as the first woman popularly elected as mayor of the City of Gloucester, Mass. After serving as mayor for seven years, she served as the deputy secretary at the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.
Before her roles in public service, Kirk’s private professional career spans more than 25 years and includes experience as a management consultant.
She is a graduate of Boston College.
Kelley Tuthill, Ed.D.
President & CEO, Catholic Charities Boston
Kelley Tuthill, Ed.D., was appointed President & CEO of Catholic Charities Boston in 2024. In her role, she develops the vision and strategic plan for the $50 million agency and works closely with leaders and policymakers across key organizations to advance Catholic Charities Boston’s mission to welcome and serve all those in need with dignity and respect.
A seasoned fundraiser, her team has achieved notable successes under her leadership in securing major gifts from private donors and foundations and raising $1.5 million at its 2024 annual fundraiser, more than double the previous year. She led the agency’s response to the humanitarian crisis stretching from the nation’s border to Boston, working with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey’s Administration to expand agency shelter capacity by 130 percent and open two new facilities.
Prior to being appointed President & CEO, Dr. Tuthill served as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing advancement, government and community relations, human resources, legal and marketing and communications. Her leadership has been pivotal to the agency’s aspirations to generate more resources for programs, strengthen the brand and improve business functions.
Before joining Catholic Charities, Dr. Tuthill served as Regis College’s first Vice President of Marketing & Communications, helping to launch an annual university-wide day of service, a fundraising gala and a website overhaul. Dr. Tuthill worked for more than two decades as a news anchor and reporter, primarily at WCVB-TV in Boston. She won awards for her multiplatform coverage of the Whitey Bulger mob trial and was part of a team that covered the Boston Marathon bombing, which won three National Headliner Awards and several Emmys.
A breast cancer survivor, Dr. Tuthill poignantly shared her journey with WCVB viewers and online users. She has become a champion of local and national breast cancer organizations, raising both money and awareness. Dr. Tuthill received the 2017 Jimmy Award, which honors celebrities who have committed themselves to the mission of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.
Dr. Tuthill received her doctorate in higher education leadership from Regis College, a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame. She served for 25 years on the Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters Advisory Council and the Gallivan Journalism Board. She was appointed to the board of directors of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in 2024.
