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Marking
the
climax
of
their
college
experience,
approximately
535
undergraduate
and
115
graduate
students
will
join
the
ranks
of
48,000
alumni
before
them
who
proudly
call
Baldwin
Wallace
their
alma
mater.
The 168th Baldwin Wallace University Commencement will be held Saturday, May 5, 2 p.m., in Ursprung Gymnasium in the Lou Higgins Center. The speaker is Dr. Janet L. Kavandi, director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
An exemplary leader, Kavandi has an impressive background focused on public service through NASA. As director of the Glenn facility, she is responsible for planning, organizing and directing the activities assigned to the 76-year-old NASA center.
Prior to this position, Kavandi served as Glenn's deputy director. Before coming to Cleveland, she worked at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston where she served as the director of flight crew operations and deputy director of the health and human performance directorate.
Kavandi fulfilled her childhood wish of becoming an astronaut in December 1994. She is a veteran of three space flights, serving as a mission specialist in 1998, 2000 and 2001. She logged more than 33 days in space and traveled more than 13.1 million miles in 535 Earth orbits.
Born
in
Springfield,
Missouri,
she
earned
her
bachelor's,
master's
and
doctoral
degrees
in
chemistry
from
Missouri
Southern
State
University,
Missouri
University
of
Science
and
Technology
and
the
University
of
Washington.
Her
accolades
include
a
Presidential
Rank
Award,
two
NASA
Outstanding
Leadership
Medals,
two
Exceptional
Service
Medals
and
three
NASA
Space
Flight
Medals.
