Ball State Names Commencement Speaker
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe recently-retired chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society will be speak this month at Ball State University’s fall commencement. John Seffrin, who graduated from Ball State in 1966, led the organization for more than 20 years.
Seffrin will also receive the President’s Medal of Distinction December 19 on the Muncie campus. The ceremonies in Worthen Arena are free and open to the public.
He spent 20 years as a volunteer for the American Cancer Society before becoming its top executive in 1992. He stepped down earlier this year. The school says Seffrin helped turn the organization into a global cancer leader, with $1 billion in resources. The position was a personal calling. He lost his grandmother and mother to cancer. His wife Carole, also a Ball State graduate, is a breast cancer survivor.
Seffrin also serves on the White House Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion and Integrative and Public Health, as well as the Advisory Committee to the Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In addition to Ball state, he holds degrees from Purdue University and the University of Illinois.