Students share 'Sweet Emotion'

More than 2,600 students collected degrees yesterday from the University of Massachusetts at Boston, where commencement day advice was delivered by Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, broadcast journalist Emily Rooney, and the president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernandez.

The ceremony, held outdoors on the Dorchester campus for the first time in a decade, was staged on the lawn beside the year-old Campus Center, the first new building at the school in 30 years. The university's new chancellor, Dr. Michael F. Collins, was introduced to the thousands in attendance by interim chancellor J. Keith Motley, who marked his formal farewell to the campus yesterday.

There was little mention of the controversy that erupted last month when Collins, a physician and former healthcare executive, was chosen to lead UMass-Boston. The decision angered many students, staff, and faculty who believed that Motley, the only minority candidate, should be hired, and it led some legislators and activists to voice concerns about racism.

Only WGBH-TV's Rooney, in a speech to graduates about the need to stay aware of current events, referred to the dispute, chiding those who supported Motley but failed to learn about the qualifications of the other finalists.

''Only a handful of people bothered to inform themselves about the other choices," she said. ''I hope you all chose to learn something about the other candidates, and if you did, I hope you learned that not every decision is black and white. There are shades of gray."

Tyler, a Boston-based rock 'n' roll icon, received an honorary doctorate from UMass-Boston for his music and his support for philanthropic causes, from literacy and homelessness to rehabilitation for alcoholism and support for families of soldiers killed in Iraq. ''Remember, today is the first day of the rest of your life," the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member told graduates.

Then he raised a tin of licorice Altoids to the microphone, shook it like a maraca, and thrilled the crowd. ''Sweeet grad-uation," he sang to the tune of the Aerosmith hit ''Sweet Emotion."

Honorary degrees were awarded to Rooney; Boston Foundation vice president Gail Snowden; Dr. John Ruffin, the director of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health; and Fernandez, who urged graduates to ''keep alive the spark of curiosity."

At a commencement breakfast yesterday, attended by Red Sox player and Dominican native David Ortiz, Fernandez described how his early dreams of being a star baseball player, a lawyer, and a researcher went unfulfilled, failures that became ''building blocks" of his later success.

''Learning makes us more humble, more tolerant, and appreciative," he said. ''Once we develop a passion for knowledge, there is no other road we can take."

Graduates spilled onto the lawn for photographs, where emotions ranged from giddiness to satisfaction. Athalia Gonzalez, 27, who earned a bachelor's degree in psychology after nine years of study, called her education a ''long, painful, stressful journey."

''I'm beyond excited, beyond happy," she said.

Asked how he managed to complete a bachelor's degree in biology in three and a half years, James Atem, 27, a native of Sudan, said, ''I don't know how I did it." Atem plans to start medical school in the fall.

About 2,100 graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology also celebrated yesterday, as new MIT president Susan Hockfield presided for the first time over the commencement on tree-lined Killian Court.

Hockfield reminded students there should be more to their lives than chasing dollars in an ''uncertain and unsettled age," and called on them to tackle the tough issues of poverty, contagious diseases, and environmental degradation.

''I have tremendous faith in you," she said. ''Surprise and delight us with achievements we could never have predicted."

Jenna Russell can be reached at jrussell@globe.com.