Fredonia will welcome home one of its own to Commencement, slated for Saturday, May 14, with ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the Steele Hall Arena.
Alumnus Dr. Jeffery W. Kelly, a member of the Class of 1982 and the Lita Annenberg Hazen Professor of Chemistry and Chairman of the Department of Molecular Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute in California, will be the keynote speaker.
President Virginia Horvath noted, "Dr. (Jeff) Kelly will offer graduating students some important perspectives on his success after Fredonia. His resume tells of the important scientific advances he has accomplished, as well as his entrepreneurial ventures. Because I know him as an alumnus and good friend to the campus, I look forward to hearing his advice to students - in all majors - about the ways to make a living and make the life they want after graduation."
Dr. Kelly earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The focus of Dr. Kelly’s research at Scripps is to understand the principles of protein folding and to comprehend how this process goes awry leading to Neurodegenerative diseases. Kelly discovered tafamidis, a first-in-class drug sold by Pfizer to ameliorate peripheral neuropathy. His many honors include being elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and being named a Searle Scholar and receiving the Royal Society of Chemistry Jeremy Knowles Award, the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award of the American Chemical Society, the Dupont Young Investigator Award from The Protein Society and the outstanding Achievement Award from the Fredonia Alumni Association. He is a current member of the Fredonia College Foundation Board of Directors, as well as being on the board of directors of public and private companies, three of which he founded. Dr. Kelly established the Kelly Family Scholarship Endowment through the foundation for incoming first-year students and the new Science Center’s 120-seat state-of-the-art lecture hall that is named in his family’s honor.
Over 1,400 students are eligible to participate in the ceremonies, which combine students receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees and the advanced certificate.
Performing ensembles will include the Fredonia Wind Ensemble and the Fredonia Wind Symphony, under the direction of Dr. Paula Holcomb, and the Fredonia Chamber Choir, under the direction of Dr. Gerald Gray.
Senior Julianne M. Foster of Rochester, N.Y., graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication-Media Management, has been named the recipient of the Lanford Presidential Prize, to be awarded during the morning ceremony. Class President Stephanie Willis will speak at both ceremonies.
