FARMINGTON -- Sally Goodrich, whose son was killed in the World Trade Center bombing and has since dedicated herself to bringing educational opportunities to the children of Afghanistan, will be the keynote speaker at the University of Maine at Farmington's 155th Commencement ceremony.

Goodrich, whose work in Afghanistan has been profiled in the Boston Globe, BBC World Service and Reader's Digest, was named ABC News Person of the Week in 2005.

Graduation will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 17, and will be held outdoors behind the UMF Olsen Student Center. Guests are also welcome to watch the ceremony live over closed-circuit television in Lincoln Auditorium in Roberts Learning Center. New graduates are invited to a reception afterwards in the student center.

Receiving honorary degrees at this year's ceremony are Liz Lerman, choreographer, performer and a leading force in contemporary dance, and Roger Spear, whose career at UMF spanned nearly 40 years.

Graduating senior Jessica Longstreet of Georgetown will give the student address.

Goodrich's son Peter died in the second plane to hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. The loss threatened to overwhelm Goodrich and her family until they became aware of the great educational needs of the children in Afghanistan, according to a feature story in the April 2008 issue of Reader's Digest.

Goodrich responded in the way she believed Peter would have wanted, by meeting the Afghani children's needs in his name. Since that time, Goodrich and her family have created the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to "supporting the love of learning for its own sake," primarily in the field of education in Afghanistan.

In 2006, the foundation dedicated a school built for 500 girls south of Kabul.

In case of inclement weather on May 17, the ceremony will be held inside the Fitness & Recreation Center. Weather inquiries should be directed on the morning of the ceremony to 778-7000.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991

bjespersen@centralmaine.com