CONTACT: News & Information Services304-293-6997(Photo available for downloading at http://www.nis.wvu.edu/newsroom/)aCONTACT: News & Information Services304-293-6997(Photo available for downloading at http://www.nis.wvu.edu/newsroom/)
Venture capitalist and alumnus Ray Lane to address grads, receive honorary degree
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The man who helped take Oracle Corporation to the top of the computer software industry and now guides established businesses in Internet opportunities and entrepreneurial strategies will give the main address at West Virginia University's 133rdCommencement Sunday, May 19, at 1:30 p.m. in the WVU Coliseum.
Ray Lane, a McKeesport, Pa., native and 1968 WVU mathematics graduate, will also receive an honorary doctor of science degree during the ceremony
"Ray's accomplishments should serve as a wonderful example to our graduates that hard work and dedication pay off," said WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. "We are extremely grateful this model alumnus and friend will be addressing our bright young graduates."
Lane joined Oracle in 1992 after many years at IBM, Electronic Data Systems Corp. and Booz Allen & Hamilton. He quickly rose to the position of president and CEO in 1996. According to Fortune Magazine and Industry Week, Lane's work at Oracle made him a leader on the American business scene, and CNN Magazine selected him as one of the top 25 executives in the computer industry.
In 2000, Lane left Oracle to become a partner in Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, a premier venture capital firm based in California. His current work focuses on guiding established businesses to successfully take advantage of new strategic Internet opportunities as well as helping entrepreneurs with organizational development, team building and managing sales terms.
Lane, a member of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors, is serving as the general chairman of the Foundation's current Capital Campaign. The five-year effort has raised some $216 million to date, with 21 months remaining.
Demonstrating his commitment to the campaign, Lane and his wife Stephanie recently gave the WVU Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering $5 million to support an endowed computer science chair and endowed graduate fellowships; enhance faculty research labs and outreach activities; add to library resources; and more.
He also assisted the University in acquiring new software to upgrade the institution's reporting and accounting systems in preparation for the year 2000, and made numerous visits to campus to meet with students, faculty and administrators to help with the establishment of the Oracle Academic Initiative. The program is designed to address the shortage of skilled technology workers, and because of Lane's involvement, WVU was a charter member.
Lane is a 1998 inductee of the WVU Alumni Association's Academy of Distinguished Alumni.
-WVU-
bn/4/15/02WVU News on the Web -- http://www.nis.wvu.edu/newsroom/Venture capitalist and alumnus Ray Lane to address grads, receive honorary degree
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The man who helped take Oracle Corporation to the top of the computer software industry and now guides established businesses in Internet opportunities and entrepreneurial strategies will give the main address at West Virginia University's 133rdCommencement Sunday, May 19, at 1:30 p.m. in the WVU Coliseum.
Ray Lane, a McKeesport, Pa., native and 1968 WVU mathematics graduate, will also receive an honorary doctor of science degree during the ceremony
"Ray's accomplishments should serve as a wonderful example to our graduates that hard work and dedication pay off," said WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. "We are extremely grateful this model alumnus and friend will be addressing our bright young graduates."
Lane joined Oracle in 1992 after many years at IBM, Electronic Data Systems Corp. and Booz Allen & Hamilton. He quickly rose to the position of president and CEO in 1996. According to Fortune Magazine and Industry Week, Lane's work at Oracle made him a leader on the American business scene, and CNN Magazine selected him as one of the top 25 executives in the computer industry.
In 2000, Lane left Oracle to become a partner in Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, a premier venture capital firm based in California. His current work focuses on guiding established businesses to successfully take advantage of new strategic Internet opportunities as well as helping entrepreneurs with organizational development, team building and managing sales terms.
Lane, a member of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors, is serving as the general chairman of the Foundation's current Capital Campaign. The five-year effort has raised some $216 million to date, with 21 months remaining.
Demonstrating his commitment to the campaign, Lane and his wife Stephanie recently gave the WVU Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering $5 million to support an endowed computer science chair and endowed graduate fellowships; enhance faculty research labs and outreach activities; add to library resources; and more.
He also assisted the University in acquiring new software to upgrade the institution's reporting and accounting systems in preparation for the year 2000, and made numerous visits to campus to meet with students, faculty and administrators to help with the establishment of the Oracle Academic Initiative. The program is designed to address the shortage of skilled technology workers, and because of Lane's involvement, WVU was a charter member.
Lane is a 1998 inductee of the WVU Alumni Association's Academy of Distinguished Alumni.-WVU-bn/4/15/02WVU News on the Web -- http://www.nis.wvu.edu/newsroom/
RSS