BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A Silicon Valley innovator, a former U.S. ambassador, an NFL executive, an inaugural member of the 3/2 accounting MBA program and a long-time Kelley administrator are speaking to this year’s graduates of the various degree programs at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
The annual recognition ceremonies complement IU’s commencement activities during the weekend of May 3-4. Speakers from the business world will offer Kelley graduates advice and encouragement tailored to them.
John C. Shoemaker, board chairman of Extreme Networks, a former executive vice president of Sun Microsystems and a 1966 Kelley MBA graduate (pictured right), will speak to MBA graduates May 3 at the IU Auditorium.
With more than three decades of experience in high tech, Shoemaker held various executive management positions at Sun Microsystems from 1990 through 2004, including executive vice president for worldwide operations, executive vice president and general manager of its Computer Systems Division. He also served in a number of senior executive positions with Xerox Corp., including as its senior vice president of worldwide marketing.
An ambassador and NFL executive addressing Kelley online MBA and MS students
Two people will address the celebration for online MBA and MS students in both the Kelley Direct Programs and Executive Degree Programs on May 4 at the IU Auditorium – Eric John, president of Boeing Korea, vice president of Boeing International and former U.S. ambassador to Thailand; and Kelley alumnus Lake Dawson, assistant director of college scouting for the Buffalo Bills and a former member of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts.
John (pictured left) assumed his current posts at Boeing in 2014 after serving in the U.S. Senior Foreign Service for 31 years. He had been senior advisor for security negotiations and agreements in the Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and the principal coordinator of U.S. government policy on an array of international security agreements. Among them, he concluded landmark defense arrangements with the Philippines, Australia and Korea.
An Indiana native, John was foreign policy advisor to the chief of staff of the Air Force from 2011 until June 2013. He was the U.S. ambassador to Thailand from 2007 through 2010. From 2005 to 2007, he served as the deputy assistant secretary of state for Southeast Asia. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Dawson, a 2017 MBA graduate (pictured right), has been with the Bills since May of that same year. He previously held executive positions with the Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns and the Tennessee Titans, where he spent eight seasons and ultimately was vice president of player personnel. While with Seattle, he helped the organization win the NFC West Divisional Championship in three straight seasons and a Super Bowl appearance in 2005.
In 2013, Dawson was chosen for the prestigious NFL’s Career Development Symposium at the Wharton School of Business, and subsequently came to Kelley through its partnership with the NFL Players Association. In 2016, he was selected as a finalist for Poets & Quants’ favorite MBAs the year.
Alumni and a professor speaking to undergraduates and GAP and MSIS graduates
Speaking to Kelley undergraduates on the evening of May 3 in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall will be Steven Coverick, president of the Kelley School of Business Alumni Association Board of Directors and a director with Alvarez & Marsal’s North American Turnaround and Restructuring practice in Dallas.
Coverick, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Kelley in 2009, has gone on to a successful career in corporate financial advising. He has worked with clients across a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, media, technology, professional services, education, energy, life sciences, hospitality, chemicals and manufacturing.
Cathy Bedrick, a partner at KPMG and a member of Kelley’s inaugural 3/2 MBA class in 1999, will speak May 3 at the Monroe Convention Center at the recognition ceremony for students completing degrees through Graduate Accounting Programs. She has been with KPMG in Chicago since 2002 and frequently returns to Kelley to recruit students for the firm.
Arlen Langvardt, associate dean of academics and chair of the Department of Business Law & Ethics at Kelley, will speak to graduates of the Master of Science in Information Systems program on May 4 at the Monroe Convention Center.
Langvardt will retire later this year after a lengthy and significant career at Kelley. joined the faculty in 1985 and chaired the business law department from 2000 to 2009 and from 2016 to the present. He has been associate dean of academics since 2017. He has received numerous awards for his research, teaching, and service, including the Trustees Teaching Award and the 2016 Outstanding Service Award.
The spring commencement ceremony for all IU graduate students, including those at Kelley, will be held May 3 at 3 p.m. in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, 1001 E. 17th St. Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger will speak during the IU Bloomington graduate ceremony.
All candidates for IU bachelor’s degrees will graduate at 10 a.m. on May 4 in Memorial Stadium, 1001 E. 17th St. Samantha Power, the youngest-ever U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and a member of President Obama’s cabinet, will speak to undergraduates. Shoemaker will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the ceremony.
