When University of Maine at Augusta graduates take part in commencement exercises May 11, a longtime journalist will guide them on their way.

Judith Meyer (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

The higher education institution announced Wednesday that Judith Meyer, executive editor of the Sun Journal, the Kennebec Journal and the Morning Sentinel, will be the commencement speaker. In addition to overseeing the three daily newspapers, Meyer is also executive editor for seven weekly newspapers.

“UMA is pleased to have Judith Meyer participate in our Commencement activities,” UMA President Rebecca Wyke said in a prepared statement. “Given her background with the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition and a career in journalism, she will provide a unique perspective on our year-long academic theme of ‘Freedom of Speech’.”

Meyer has been a journalist since 1990 and is the former editorial page editor of the Sun Journal. She was named Maine’s Journalist of the Year in 2003. Meyer also is vice president of the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition and is a member of the Right to Know Advisory Committee to the Legislature. She serves on the New England Newspaper & Press Association board of directors and was the 2018 recipient of the Judith Vance Weld Brown Spirit of Journalism Award in New England.

Randall Liberty

Randall Liberty, commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections and a 1998 UMA graduate, will be awarded an honorary degree in humane letters. Before his appointment as commissioner, he was warden of the Maine State Prison for three years and was Kennebec County sheriff for seven years. A decorated veteran with a 24-year record of service in the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve, Liberty taught military history at West Point and served 10 months as a command sergeant major of a transition team embedded with Iraqi infantry in Fallujah.

Commencement is scheduled for 10 a.m. May 11 in the Augusta Civic Center auditorium.