Jason Eichenholz, Ph.D., and Roy Haley to Receive Honors and Serve as Commencement Speakers
Beacon College will confer honorary doctorates on two national learning disability advocates at its Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 10, at 11 a.m. at the Brownwood Hotel & Spa.
“We are privileged to celebrate the profound influence of Dr. Eichenholz and Mr. Haley with honorary doctorates of humane letters,” said Beacon President George J. Hagerty. “Their contributions on behalf of people with learning differences have been truly transformational. The scope and impact of their work can only be characterized as extraordinary.”
Honorary degrees are awarded by the board of trustees of Beacon College and will be conferred by the college president during Commencement Exercises. This year, the College will award 60 bachelor’s degrees and 11 associate degrees.
Jason Eichenholz, Ph.D.
Recognized as a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and pioneer in laser and photonics optics-enabled innovation, Eichenholz is deeply committed to social enterprise and advocating for people of all abilities to see the best in themselves and bring the best out of the world around them.
With a Ph.D. in optical sciences and engineering from CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida, Eichenholz has spent more than 30 years at the forefront of transformative technologies. He holds over 90 U.S. patents and is recognized as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, SPIE, and Optica.
As the co-founder and former chief technology officer of Luminar Technologies, Eichenholz helped redefine autonomous vehicle safety with lidar technology. Under his leadership, Luminar became a publicly traded company on NASDAQ, raising approximately $1 billion in funding. His expertise in turning groundbreaking research into scalable solutions is now driving Relativity Networks’ mission to revolutionize fiber optics with hollow core fiber technology and tackling one of the most urgent challenges in the AI era: the power scaling problem.
One of his life’s passions is Jonathan’s Landing Foundation (JLF), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build the world’s most comprehensive residential community for adults with autism. Headquartered in Orlando and operating nationally, JLF is developing housing for 500 adults and generating 5,000 meaningful jobs through a bold live-work model. Starting with careers in tech through Techtonic the foundation’s first groundbreaking social enterprise is designed to set a new standard for opportunity and independence.
Roy Haley
Haley is a successful businessman and philanthropist whose generosity has transformed lives in Central Florida for decades.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in industrial management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Haley went on to build an impressive business career, holding leadership positions that included partnership at Arthur Andersen, chief operating officer at American General Corporation, and chairman and chief executive officer of Fortune 500 company, WESCO, for 14 years. His expertise in supply chain management, logistics and financial services led to service on numerous corporate boards, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, many nonprofit boards and as a trustee at Carnegie Mellon University.
Although Haley shies away from the spotlight, his significant philanthropy has altered the trajectory of many institutions – most notably, Orlando Health and Beacon College. The commitment of he and his wife, Dee, is felt through their support of The Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families, the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, and the creation of the Haley Center for Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders.
At Beacon College, Haley’s impact has been profound. He established the Beacon Scholars program, providing much-needed financial assistance to students with significant financial need, and provided significant support for Beacon’s growing capital presence in downtown Leesburg. He is deeply committed to ensuring Beacon students find meaningful careers, even personally facilitating paid internships for them at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas, providing invaluable opportunities for growth and career development.