AMHERST -- A record graduating class of 5,500 will receive degrees Friday evening at the undergraduate commencement at the University of Massachusetts.



Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express, will give the keynote address at the undergraduate commencement.



Ceremonies begin at 5 p.m. at the McGuirk Alumni Stadium.



Chenault will also receive an honorary doctor of humane letters at the ceremony. Chenault became president and chief operating officer at American Express in 1997. He assumed his current responsibilities as CEO in 2001, and later that year became chairman. He began working at the company in 1981.

Last year's commencement ceremony set the previous record for a graduating class, with 5,203 students accepting degrees.

Spokesman Edward F. Blaguszewski said in an email “this seems to be a combination of larger entering classes, improved retention and shorter time to a degree.” More are graduating in four years, he said.

Senior Adam E. Schultz, of Sudbury, will be the student speaker. He is a hospitality and tourism major.



Alumna Elaine N. Marieb, textbook author, educator and philanthropist, and alumnus Charles F. Perrell, investor and principal, Perrell Ventures, will receive Distinguished Achievement Awards that recognize high accomplishment in a given field or profession and notable contributions to society.

Marieb taught at Holyoke Community College for 25 years and has a science building named after her there.

Eleven members of class of 2013 are being honored as 21st Century Leaders and four will be recognized for their leadership and executive ability as Jack Welch Scholars.

Hank Porten

About 1,200 are slated to receive graduate degrees at the Graduate Commencement ceremonies at 9 a.m. at the Mullins Center. At those ceremonies, Holyoke’s Hank J. Porten, president and CEO of Valley Health Systems, will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

Porten has been the president of the 198-bed Holyoke Medical Center since 1985.

In January, Porten, who lives in Holyoke, announced that he would be stepping down this summer.

He has served as a volunteer on the Economic Council of Western Massachusetts, the Regional Employment Board, the Holy Cross Parish Finance Committee, and the Holyoke Long-Range Planning and Master Plan committees.

The Stockbridge School will hold its commencement on Saturday, at 10 a.m. in Bowker Auditorium with about 100 receiving associate’s degrees.