News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 5/2/03   Click on image for publication quality photo IBM EXECUTIVE TO SPEAK AT SOUTHEASTERN COMMENCEMENT        HAMMOND -- Albert E. Kuhn, an IBM vice president who helped put men on the moon, will be the keynote speaker at Southeastern Louisiana University’s May 17 graduation ceremony.       Southeastern will confer associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees on more than 980 students at the 10 a.m. ceremony in the University Center.       Kuhn, a Ponchatoula native, received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Southeastern in 1965. He heads IBM’s Global Delivery Project, a $4 billion, five-year information technology out-tasking program between the IBM and American Express, and manages an organization of more than 2,000 IBM personnel located in 26 countries. He was named Southeastern’s Alumnus of the Year in 2002.       Kuhn recently was instrumental in establishing several IBM internships for Southeastern students to provide them with real-world opportunities and experiences.       Kuhn’s career began in the aerospace industry, where, as an employee of Boeing, Computer Sciences Corporation, McDonnal Douglas, and IBM, he was involved in the Apollo, space shuttle and Space Station Freedom programs, and worked on missile defense.       In the early 1990s, he switched his career focus at IBM to information technology, serving as systems manager for the company’s O/S 2 operation system development and establishing a worldwide organization for providing user end support for software products. His work took him to Europe and China, where he established a service organization to support IBM’s software marketing and sales.       He joined IBM’s Global Services Division in 1996 and became director of Distributed  Services two years later. Kuhn was named vice president and Global Delivery Project executive  for the American Express Account in 2002.        Kuhn’s wife, Kathryn Durr Kuhn, a 1964 Southeastern graduate and physical education major, who was a member of and choreographer for the Lionettes, the university’s dance team. A former high school teacher, she is an internationally rated women’s gymnastic judge, judging at the collegiate, pre-Olympic and international levels.       The Kuhns have one son, Alan, a veterinarian who practices in Florida. Return to News Releases