At this weekend's commencement, the College of William & Mary will
present the Sullivan Award to the Rev. John Kerr, Episcopal chaplain to
the faculty, staff and students.
The
Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, given in the form of a medallion, is
in recognition of influence for good, taking into consideration such
characteristics of heart, mind, and conduct as evince a spirit of love
and helpfulness. It is awarded each year to one man and one woman from
the graduating student body and to a third person who has a close
relationship to the College (e.g., staff, coaches, campus ministers,
etc). The recipients are chosen by the Commencement Committee at the end
of the Spring semester on the basis of nomination from members of the College community.
Born
in Scotland, the Rev. John Kerr is a graduate of the Universities of
Toronto, Leeds, and Nottingham. He was ordained Deacon and Priest in
Oxford Diocese of the Church of England in 1977/8, serving his Title in
Windsor Parish. He then returned to academic life, serving a
bivocational ministry, lecturing in physics, chemistry and theology. He
was awarded an Athlone Research Fellowship at Leeds University, and a
Visiting Research Fellowship at both Merton College, Oxford, and the
University of California Berkeley's, Center for Theology and the Natural
Sciences. Fr Kerr was one of the founders and second Warden of the
Society of Ordained Scientists. He was the first Bruton-Rockefeller
Resident Scholar.
