Jewell honors civic leaders at opening convocation
08/16/2024
William Jewell College celebrates the start of the academic year with its Opening Convocation ceremony. All community members are invited to join us on Friday, Sept. 6, at 11:45 a.m. in Gano Chapel on Jewell's Liberty campus.
The guest speaker will be Neal Sharma, co-founder and former CEO of DEG and president of Dentsu Alliance Solutions. In continuing a 44-year tradition, the ceremony also includes presentations of the William F. Yates Medallion for Distinguished Service to valued community members Bob Page, president and CEO of The University of Kansas Health System; Neal Sharma; and Erin Stucky, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.
Bob Page is the son of two WWII veterans who instilled in him a spirit of service that remains foundational for him today. He began his career in public accounting and made the decision over 40 years ago to use his business and financial acumen to help improve healthcare. He was part of the leadership team responsible for the creation of BJC Health System in the early 1990s, then joined The University of Kansas Hospital/Health System’s executive team 28 years ago and accepted the role of CEO in 2007. With a focus on patients and the team providing and supporting patient care, he has played an instrumental role in the transformation of the organization from a lethargic, underperforming Academic Medical Center to the nationally recognized organization it is today.
Page has also worked to stabilize the healthcare environment across Kansas and in metropolitan Kansas City. Innovative collaborations with 82 healthcare organizations resulted in improvement in the use of evidence-based practice and patient outcomes. In 2017, the health system joined forces with Ardent Health Services to ensure continued operation of St. Francis Hospital in Topeka. In 2018, the Health System added Great Bend Regional Hospital, and over the last two years, the health system has integrated Olathe Health and Liberty Hospital to ensure those organizations can continue to provide the best possible care for their communities. Recently, the health system launched a novel collaboration with Kansas State University to address healthcare challenges in rural Kansas.
His work has been recognized with honors including the Illinois Wesleyan University Distinguished Alumni Award, the Buck O’Neil Legacy Award, the United Way of Wyandotte County Spirit of Caring Award, the Kansas City Sports Commission Executive of the Year, Ingram’s Magazine Executive of the Year and the Kansas Hospital Association’s top award for his contributions to the healthcare of Kansans.
Over the course of more than two decades, Neal Sharma has become one of the most recognizable business leaders in the country, breaking new ground at the forefront of digital marketing and technological change and serving marquee clients across the globe. Sharma is the co-founder and former CEO of DEG, a full-service digital agency in Kansas City that grew to a more than 600-person firm now a part of global agency, Merkle. During that time, DEG formed long-lasting partnerships with brands like Hallmark, Gap Inc., Nestlé Purina, Johnson & Johnson, Hub International, PepsiCo and Sam’s Club/Walmart. Sharma was also instrumental in completing DEG’s successful sale to Dentsu, – the fifth-largest agency holding company in the world. He currently serves as president of Alliance Solutions at the network.
He currently serves as vice chair of the KC2026 organizing committee for the 2026 World Cup, a Truman Library Institute board member, an advisory board member of the Opportunity Now economic initiative of Overland Park, a fellow of the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program, and a member of the Board of Directors for Evergy, Inc. and MRIGlobal as well as an advisor for startups in various industries. Sharma has many other current and previous community leadership roles in economic development, civic advancement, healthcare, higher education and community service.
Sharma has been widely acknowledged for his professional and personal accomplishments by the Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City, Kansas City Business Journal’s Power 100, Ingram’s Magazine 40 Under 40, the Kansas City Star’s most influential people in technology, the Asian-American Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneur of the Year, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year regional finalist and others. Sharma received his bachelor’s degree from American University and an MBA from the University of Kansas.
Erin Stucky is the president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC). She leads the company with a lifelong dedication to healthcare, a deep commitment to the Kansas City region and extensive expertise in business and health advocacy.
As president and CEO of Kansas City’s largest not-for-profit health insurer in Missouri and the only not-for-profit commercial health insurer in Kansas City, Stucky is committed to Blue KC’s mission of making healthcare more affordable and positioning Blue KC to respond to the ever-evolving healthcare environment. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City provides health coverage services to more than one million residents in the greater Kansas City area and 30 counties in Northwest Missouri.
A career veteran of Blue KC, Stucky has served in progressive executive leadership roles throughout the company. She has directed market innovation, health and wellness initiatives, sales and marketing, population health, payment innovations and underwriting.
A highly respected business leader in the region, Ingram’s Magazine named her a Women Executives-KC (WeKC) honoree. She has been named to the Ingram’s 250, a group of the most powerful and influential business leaders in Greater Kansas City, for the past three years.
Stucky is devoted to the Kansas City community and serves various professional and civic organizations. She currently serves as a board member for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Union Station Kansas City and the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City. Additionally, Stucky is a member of the Board of Trustees for Cristo Rey and MRIGlobal and serves on the Children’s Mercy Research Institute Advisory Council. She is an alumna of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Centurions Leadership Program and a former member of the Chamber’s Executive Women’s Leadership Council, Friendship Inn Board of Directors and the Police Foundation of Kansas City.
About the William F. Yates Medallion
The Yates Medallion, along with the Alumni Citation for Achievement, is the highest non-degree award William Jewell College bestows. The tradition began in 1980 to honor exceptional Kansas Citians for their invaluable professional contributions, civic engagement and service, and who pave the way for Jewell students on the cusp of becoming the next generation of leaders.
The medallion is named for William F. Yates, graduate of the class of 1898, long-time member of the Board of Trustees and major benefactor. He and his wife provided a generous endowment to establish the chemistry department named for J.A. Yates, their son who died shortly after graduation. Yates-Gill College Union also is named for this prominent banker as well as another loyal friend and former Trustee of the College, Dr. J. Ray Gill of Richmond, Missouri.
The piece itself is of cast bronze and bears the likeness of Jewell Hall, which was completed in 1858 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This building, perhaps more than any other on campus, reflects the sense of tradition and heritage central to the life of the College. The medallion bears the College motto, Deo Fisus Labora, “Trust in God and Work.”