Updated -November 4, 2010
Former Marine Corps Commandant Paul X. Kelley to be Honorary Ronald Reagan Fellow at Eureka College
A commandant of the Marine Corps during the Reagan administration will be named as an honorary Ronald Reagan Fellow at Reagan's alma mater, Eureka College. Retired Gen. P. X. Kelley, commandant of the Marine Corps from 1983 to 1987, will receive the recognition at a dinner at the Reagan International Building, Washington, D.C., on Nov. 9. The event will be part of the Eureka College Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration to observe the 100th anniversary of Reagan's birth in 2011.
The college's Ronald Reagan Leadership Program selects honorary fellows who exemplify the program's "Lead and Serve" motto by making significant contributions in leadership and service. Past recipients are former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III and former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
"Gen. Kelley's lifelong dedication and leadership in service to the United States reflect the ideals of President Reagan and of the Ronald Reagan Leadership Program founded at Eureka College in his name," said Reagan Leadership Program Director Michael Thurwanger.
"Gen. Kelley's outstanding career and long record of service provide a model for Eureka College Reagan Fellows and all Eureka College students to emulate. This recognition of his leadership and career contributions is all the more fitting this year as we celebrate the centennial of President Reagan's birth, during whose administration Gen. Kelley served as commandant," Thurwanger said.
During his 37-year military career, Kelley commanded Marine Corps organizations at every echelon from platoon through division, including command of an infantry battalion and infantry
regiment in combat, and served tours with the Army, Navy, Air Force and British Royal Marines. He was chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission from 1989 to 1994. He received a bachelor's degree in economics from Villanova University and is a Distinguished Graduate of the Air War College.
Kelley spoke at Eureka College last November at a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Participants in the Nov. 9 induction ceremony will include former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense K.T. McFarland as mistress of ceremonies, former Marine Corps Chaplain Eli Takesian, former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III, former California Gov. Pete Wilson and Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos.
Participants from Eureka College will include President J. David Arnold, Director of Development for the Reagan Leadership Program John D. Morris, Chairman of the Board of Trustees David Adams and former Reagan Fellow Siji Moore.
The Reagan Leadership Program is in its 27th year. The program selects six incoming freshmen as Reagan Fellows each year based on leadership, service and academic excellence. Fellows receive a full-tuition scholarship over four years. The students are selected from a field of approximately 80 semifinalists in a competition held on the campus in February.
For more information, contact Thurwanger at (309) 467-6679 or email>
For information on The Reagan Fellowship Program >
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Eureka College's Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration will honor outstanding alumnus and servant leader Ronald Reagan on the centennial of his birth, Feb. 6, 2011, and celebrate the achievements of Eureka College for its heritage and legacy of creating servant-leaders. Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932. He returned to the campus 12 times and served three six-year terms on the Board of Trustees.
Contact:
Michele Lehman
Media Relations Coordinator
mlehman@eureka.edu
(309) 467-6318
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