The University of Mississippi Athletics
Coach Barnes' Coaches Vs. Cancer Program Supports Pharmacy Fraternity's Awareness Program
April 11, 2001
OXFORD, Miss. - The American Cancer Society hopes to reduce diagnosed cancer cases by 25 percent and cut cancer deaths by half over the next 15 years through research, education programs and volunteer services.
Dr. John R. Kelly, immediate past chairman of the ACS National Board of Directors, discusses strategies for reaching those goals during an address to The University of Mississippi's Pharmacy student body at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 12 in the Education School Auditorium. The session is free and open to the public.
Kelly's lecture is part of National Cancer Control Month activities and is sponsored by Kappa Psi professional pharmacy fraternity, Coaches vs. Cancer, Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi and the local chapter of ACS.
During his visit, Kelly also plans to meet with researchers involved in cancer projects from across campus, tour the Thad Cochran Research Center and meet with head basketball coach Rod Barnes, head football coach David Cutcliffe and other Athletic Department officials involved with the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign.
His address focuses on the society's Vision 2015 goals, which include achieving a 50-percent reduction in age-adjusted mortality, a 25-percent reduction in age-adjusted incidence and a measurable improvement in the quality of life for all people touched by cancer. A key part of that effort is the "Hope, Progress and Answers" campaign, which includes research, education and service components.
Kappa Psi has targeted prostate cancer awareness as its focus this spring. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer, excluding nonmelanoma skin cancers, in American men, striking more than 198,000 men each year.
A native Mississippian, Kelly holds a bachelor's degree in music from Alcorn State University, a master's in urban sociology and social psychology from Wayne State University's European campus in Frankfurt, Germany, and a doctorate in adult education and psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is director of the Navy's Regional Fleet and Family Support Center at Gulfport, chairman of the board for Gulf Coast Medical Center in Biloxi and an adjunct professor at USM.
He has been an ACS volunteer for 23 years, having served at the unit, division and national levels. He is past chairman of the scoiety's National Public Policy/Issues Committee and past national chair of the Volunteerism/Volunteer Staff Partnership Committee.