Purdue HHS to bestow honorary doctorate during spring commencement
Jack Calhoun, senior advisor at McKinsey & Co., will receive an honorary doctorate during this year’s spring commencement ceremony May 15 at Ross-Ade Stadium.
Written by: Bella Vina, ivina@purdue.edu
Jack Calhoun will receive an honorary from the College of Health and Human Sciences. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in technology from Purdue in 1987. He serves as senior advisor at McKinsey & Co., a global management consulting firm, where he advises clients in various areas, including consumer products, retail, beauty, fashion and luxury products.
While at Purdue, he was president of the Purdue Student Union Board, chair of Iron Key, member of Varsity Glee Club and received the G.A. Ross Award as an outstanding senior male graduate.
Calhoun began his career at Procter & Gamble and then worked for Levi Strauss & Co. and Charles Schwab Corp. Later, he became global president of Banana Republic.
As a pioneer of multiple complex partnerships, Calhoun was responsible for developing the first fashion brand integration with the reality TV show “Project Runway.” He also developed successful product lines with costume designers Colleen Atwood, “Memoirs of a Geisha,” and Jacqueline Durran, “Anna Karenina,” for their Academy Award-winning movies. Additionally, Calhoun led the prosperous brand partnership with the Golden Globe-winning TV series “Mad Men” and spearheaded numerous other substantial fashion, designer and branded partnerships.
Calhoun serves as chair of the Student Life Advisory Council at Purdue. He is an executive board member of the San Francisco Opera, vice chair of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and chairman of the Australian fashion brand Lack of Color. He also previously sat on the board of directors of the Kimpton Group Holding Co., the board of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Inc. furniture company and the national board of GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
Discover more from News | College of Health and Human Sciences
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.