Kennamer honored as 2015 Distinguished Alumni

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources recently held DASNR Honors Night to celebrate the accomplishments of some of its finest alumni and supporters.

James Kennamer, of Raleigh, North Carolina, was selected and recognized as a DASNR 2015 Distinguished Alumni. He graduated from OSU with his bachelor’s degree in 1981 and his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1986.

After earning his doctorate degree, Kennamer was sought after by some of the world’s most prestigious companies. He has worked his way up the professional chain over is career, holding titles like chemist, research investigator, manager and director.

Along his path, Kennamer’s efforts supported the development of the ACCU-CHEK, a blood glucose test, which is used by diabetics around the world to monitor glucose levels. He also helped develop CoaguCheck, which is utilized to monitor warfarin therapy and reduce the number of life-threatening events and improve the quality of life in patients receiving this therapy.

“We have a lot of challenges facing our healthcare system today and we often look to physicians in hospitals and clinics as the answer to solving all of our problems, and really I think in the long term, we're going to need to become better stewards of our own health,” said Tom Coon, vice president, dean and director of DASNR. “What that means is that we need not just physicians, nurses and clinicians, but also scientists who can help develop tools and technologies people can use to manage their own health. Dr. Kennamer is a great example of someone who's done that.”

Since 2007, Kennamer has been the vice president, manufacturing, of Talecris Biotherapeutics/Grifols Therapeutics in Clayton, North Carolina.

Kennamer directs the activities of approximately 800 manufacturing employees engaged in the production, process support and technical transfer of new products into commercial manufacturing. He credits much of his professional success to the educational experience he had at OSU.

“I think we should take great pride in an individual like him who comes from our programs, learned his basic sciences here, developed his expertise as a scientist conducting research here and then has taken that into the private sector and been very successful in the corporate world by developing applications that people can use to manage their own health,” Coon said.

He is a member of the Parenteral Drug Association, the North Carolina Biotechnology Manufacturer’s Forum and serves on the board of the North Carolina State University Biotechnology Training and Education Center Advisory Board.

Also honored as DASNR 2015 Distinguished Alumni were Minnie Lou Bradley and Robert Westerman.