John McAfee returns to Roanoke College as Commencement speaker
1967 graduate is the founder of anti-virus computer software and instant messaging
 Released:
May 2, 2008
Contact Name: Public Relations
Contact Phone: (540) 375-2282
Contact Email: gereaux@roanoke.edu
SALEM, Va.-John D. McAfee, the founder of McAfee, Inc. which developed the world's first computer virus scanner, will be the keynote speaker at Roanoke College's commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 3 at 10 a.m. McAfee will be recognized with an honorary doctor of science degree at the ceremony. The baccalaureate ceremony will be held Friday, May 2 at 4:30 p.m. in the C. Homer Bast Center with Rev. Paul Henrickson as the featured speaker. Henrickson is Roanoke's Timothy L. Pickle Dean of the Chapel. The Class of 2008 is comprised of 421 graduates from 26 states and two foreign countries. Two Virginia students earned the top graduation honors. Jake Bennett, a double major in math and physics from Lexington will be the Valedictorian. He is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa National Honor Society. Megan Nicole Poore, a psychology major, earned the honor of Salutatorian. Both Bennett and Poore are members of Phi Beta Kappa and the Alpha Chi National Honor Society. Both will graduate summa cum laude. McAfee graduated from Roanoke in 1967 and majored in mathematics. He worked with a number of technology companies, including General Electric, Univac, Lockheed Martin, Xerox, Siemens and IBM in computer technology and management capacities. In between companies, he traveled the world and lived for extended periods in Brazil, Germany, England, Mexico, India and Hong Kong. A leader in the field of technology, he founded Tribal Voice Inc. in 1996 and developed the world's first instant messaging program. He started Interpath Inc. in 1981 which developed the world's first commercial voice recognition system. In 1988, he started McAfee Inc. which developed the world's first virus scanner. McAfee currently lives in New Mexico and Belize and is developing technology programs for third world countries. Roanoke College, the country's second oldest Lutheran-related college, is an independent, co-educational, four-year liberal arts college. Roanoke is one of just 276 colleges nationwide with a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious honor society. The Princeton Review names Roanoke as one of the "best in the Southeast." Roanoke's 2,000 students represent 40 states across the U.S. and 26 foreign countries. For additional information, call the Roanoke College Public Relations Office at (540) 375-2282.  Printer-friendly version  E-mail this page
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