Dr. Dale Kempf, a chemist responsible for developing some of the first treatment drugs for HIV/AIDS, will be one of the keynote speakers at A Hesston College Homecoming: “A View From Everywhere” September 24 to 26. Homecoming 2010 has a focus on science and math and will feature 13 alumni speakers during a science and math symposium.
Dr. Kempf is a 1975 Hesston College graduate, and is currently in a 26-year career as a senior chemist with a focus in antiviral research at Abbott Laboratories in North Chicago, Ill. Abbott is a global health-care company responsible for developing new medicines and medical technologies.
Dr. Kempf is the co-founder and developer of Norvir, Abbott’s first drug treatment for HIV/AIDS, and one of the first in the world to be approved by the FDA. The development of Norvir eventually led to Abbott’s advanced-generation HIV drug Kaletra. Norvir was approved in 1996 and Kaletra in 2000. The two drugs are used almost as frequently as any other drugs for HIV/AIDS worldwide.
To date, Dr. Kempf has more than 130 scientific publications and 60 issued U.S. patents to his credit. He has also received numerous awards for his work in the development of antiretroviral drugs, including the National Inventor of the Year in 1997 and Heroes of Chemistry in 2003.
Dr. Kempf will speak on “Finding Faith in Pharmaceuticals” at 11 a.m. chapel Sept. 24 in the Hesston Mennonite Church sanctuary and on “Antiretroviral Therapies for AIDS: From Lab Bench to Bedside” at 2 p.m. that afternoon in Hesston Mennonite Church’s community center.
Other keynote speakers for the weekend include Gene Zaid, a 1971 Hesston alumnus and president/CEO of JACAM Chemical Company, Inc., in Sterling, Kan., and Glenn Smucker, a 1966 graduate of Hesston College and a senior consultant for the U.S. Agency for International Development with Smucker Consulting in Milwaukee, Wis.
Zaid will speak on “Life Experiences, Chemistry and JACAM” at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 25, also in the community center. Presentations by Kempf, Zaid, and all other symposium speakers are free and open to the public. Reservations are required for Smucker’s alumni banquet presentation “Environmental Crisis in Haiti: Causes and Future Prospects.”
Other alumni speakers for the science and math symposium include: Chris Alliman, Kansas City, Mo., a family practitioner at Southwest Blvd. Family Health Care; Janelle Yutzie Blubaugh, Wellington, Kan., a general surgeon at Sumner Regional Medical Center; Quiet Ncube, Torrance, Calif., physicist/Radiology at University of California Los Angeles; Jean Polynice, Maryland Heights, Mo., president of PolyUltra-Haiti; Ron Kilmer, Glendale, Ariz., director of Chief Engineers for Aerospace Electronics, Honeywell, Inc.; Lynn Newcomer, Salina, Kan., former Hesston faculty and president of Plains Environmental Services; Matt Kauffman, Tiskilwa, Ill., president of Stewardship Energy LLC; Brian Nebel, Hesston, director of Engineering at Excel Industries, Inc.; Ron Umble, Lancaster, Pa., former Hesston faculty and math professor at Millersville (Pa.) University; and Gary Yoder, Berea, Ky., physics professor at Eastern Kentucky University.
In addition to the special science and math symposium, A Hesston College Homecoming will include children’s activities; a Partner Appreciation Breakfast; an Alumni and Friends Luncheon; Campus Community Worship Service with Hesston Mennonite Church; Hesston College volleyball matches and men’s and women’s soccer games; a coffeehouse targeted to young alumni; the Golden Gables Luncheon for persons celebrating 50-year and greater anniversaries; a Tailgate Picnic Dinner and Festival for the entire family with a magic show and meet-and-greet with fall Larks athletes; an Alumni and Friends Banquet; the traditional complimentary coffee and cinnamon roll breakfast, and more.
The symposium is from 2 to 5 p.m. Sept. 24 and 1:30 to 5:15 p.m. Sept. 25. The full weekend schedule can be found online at www.hesston.edu/homecoming. For more information or to register for other weekend events, contact Hesston College Alumni Relations at 866-437-7866 or 620-327-8109 locally.
Located 30 miles North of Wichita, Hesston College is the two-year liberal arts college of Mennonite Church USA.