The University of Missouri-Kansas City has announced speakers for its May 2025 ceremonies.

The celebration will be held May 17 at the T-Mobile Center, with three ceremonies to confer graduates’ degrees.

Bob Fry (DDS, '73) will speak at the 10 a.m. ceremony, which will recognize graduates from the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Health Sciences and Pharmacy.

Fry, an alumnus of the UMKC School of Dentistry and practiced in the Kansas City area for several decades, was appointed to the University of Missouri Board of Curators by Governor Mike Parson in April 2023.

Fry graduated from UMKC in the top 1% of his class. He served as a captain in the US Army at Fort Hood, TX, from 1973-1975 and began his private practice in orthodontics in 1977.

Fry served as an adjunct clinical professor of orthodontics at the University of Southern California (USC), New York University (NYU) and the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry (UOP). He served as the President of the Kansas Dental Association in 1987. In 2002, he received the Martin L. (Bud) Schulman Award for highest achievement in the Orthodontic Profession.

DeAngela Burns-Wallace, president and chief executive officer of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, will speak at the 2 p.m. ceremony, which will recognize graduates of the Henry W. Bloch School of Management; School of Education, Social Work and Psychological Sciences; and School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Burns-Wallace has held significant roles in public service and academia, including as a U.S. State Department diplomat serving in China, South Africa and Washington, D.C., and secretary of administration and chief information technology officer for the State of Kansas. In her 15-year tenure in higher education, Burns-Wallace served as vice provost for undergraduate education at the University of Kansas and assistant dean of undergraduate admissions at Stanford University. She holds degrees from Stanford University, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Charlie Shields, president and chief executive officer of University Health, and president of the Missouri State Board of Education, will speak at the 6 p.m. ceremony, recognizing graduates of the UMKC Conservatory, School of Science and Engineering and School of Law.

Shields has more than 25 years of healthcare leadership and decades of public service, including 20 years in the Missouri General Assembly, culminating his service with two years as president pro tem of the Missouri Senate.

He is past chairman of the board of America’s Essential Hospitals and past chairman of the board of the Missouri Hospital Association. Shields is also chairman of the board of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and member of the Kansas City Civic Council.