Centre recognizes Distinguished Alumni during Homecoming festivities

The Alumni Association presented its first Distinguished Young Alumni Award in 1993

DANVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ/Centre College Public Relations) – Centre College recognized four graduates for their accomplishments and contributions by naming them Distinguished Alumni and Distinguished Young Alumni at its annual recognition ceremony, as part of the Homecoming Weekend 2021 campus festivities.

In 1963, Centre’s Alumni Association established the Distinguished Alumni Award for the purpose of honoring alumni who have given outstanding service to the College and/or to humankind.

The Alumni Association presented its first Distinguished Young Alumni Award in 1993. The award recognizes young alumni for their professional achievements, civic accomplishments and service to Centre. The distinction is awarded to alumni who have graduated within the last 15 years.

Jacqueline Layne Coleman ‘04
Distinguished Alumna

Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Layne Coleman ‘04 is an educator, basketball coach, writer, founder of a non-profit and the fifty-eighth lieutenant governor of Kentucky.

Public service is a way of life for Coleman and her family. She was raised to offer a hand to those in need and, as a result, has devoted her personal and professional life to serving her community. She is a tireless advocate for public education and a strong proponent of young women stepping into leadership roles.

As a high school basketball coach, Coleman led her teams to five consecutive record-breaking seasons and one appearance in the Sweet 16. She earned regional Coach of the Year honors in 2015.

Coleman’s leadership doesn’t end in the classroom or on the court. Her experience as an alumna of Emerge Kentucky drove her to found her own nonprofit Lead Kentucky in 2013. The program ensures Kentucky’s college women are prepared, encouraged and empowered to seek leadership positions on their campuses and later in their professional fields. Since its inception, Lead Kentucky has empowered 50 campus ambassadors with 29 different majors on more than a dozen college campuses.

Most recently, Coleman served as an assistant principal at Nelson County High School. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky.

As Lieutenant Governor, Coleman is focused on creating a comprehensive cradle-to-career public education and job training system that will produce the future leaders of the Commonwealth. As a fifth-generation Mercer Countian, she also concentrates on the many challenges facing rural Kentucky.

Norman Anthony Fischer Jr. ‘95
Distinguished Alumnus

Rev. Norman Anthony Fischer Jr. ‘95 currently serves in the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, as the parish priest of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church and is the full-time chaplain of Lexington Catholic High School. A local graduate of Boyle County High School, he received his bachelors of science as a double-major in both psychology and art from Centre in 1995. While Fischer thrived in the liberal arts educational experience, he also was involved in the community. He volunteered at a local home for foster children and served in the Big Brother Big Sister program. In the summer, he worked as a recreational therapist.

On campus, Fischer was an officer in Centre’s Black Student Union and competed on the College’s track team. He also participated in Centre theatre and served as a resident advisor on campus for two years, as well as the proconsul for his fraternity Sigma Chi.

Following graduation from Centre, Fischer responded to his vocation to the priesthood through the Diocese of Lexington. He received his masters of divinity at Mundelein Seminary and was ordained in 2000, making history as the first priest of both African-American/Filipino heritages in the Diocese of Lexington.

Fischer’s current work focuses on the building of a $3.7 million sanctuary for St. Peter Claver near downtown Lexington. He continues his passion for helping younger generations through the spiritual life team at Lexington Catholic High School and is involved with after-school programming, like Conquest Boys & Girls Club. He also serves on several boards, such as CHI St Joseph Hospital, Catholic Extension’s Mission Board, National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, and he is the chaplain for the Knights of Peter Claver, Central States District. Fischer was recently awarded a nomination for the “Lumen Christi/ Light of Christ” through the Catholic Extension.

Kurtis J. Winstead ‘82
Distinguished Alumnus

Kurt J. Winstead ‘82 retired as a Brigadier General from the Tennessee National Guard in 2021 after 30 years of service in numerous positions, including Director of the Joint Staff, State’s Senior Staff Judge Advocate and Brigade Command Judge Advocate during Operation Iraqi Freedom III. His military career began in late 1990 during soldier preparations in support of “Desert Storm,” after receiving a direct commission as a 1st Lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General Corps assigned to the 194th Engineer Brigade, Tennessee Army National Guard.

As the Brigade Command Judge Advocate during Operation Iraqi Freedom III, Winstead was instrumental in forming a consolidated legal office that provided service to over 5,000 soldiers and airmen spanning an area covering one half of Iraq receiving the Meritorious Service Medal for these efforts. Subsequently, he served as Tennessee’s Senior Staff Judge Advocate at Joint Force Headquarters in Nashville (2009-2017) before his promotion to Brigadier General.

Additionally, Winstead has worked as a practicing attorney, for more than 32 years, including experience in firm governance as a managing partner and executive committee member. He has served as general counsel for businesses with civil litigation experience in both federal and state courts, as well as general counsel for two state-wide business associations. He is a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator and 1994 graduate of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. He was admitted to practice: Tennessee (1988); Supreme Court of the United States (2000), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (1993), U.S. District Court of Tennessee: Eastern (1997), Middle (1988), Western (1997).

At Centre, Winstead was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and studied abroad in England. After graduating, he worked in the Centre admissions office as a counselor and as a graduate assistant football coach for three years.

Shariya Terrell Kennedy ‘06
Distinguished Young Alumna

Originally from Louisville, Shariya Terrell Kennedy ’06 graduated cum laude from Centre with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology and the E. Wilbur Cook Biological Sciences Award. Spurred by a zest for research that she developed at Centre, she earned a Ph.D. in biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Harvard in 2013 with support from a Predoctoral National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health.

She continued her research as a post-doctoral fellow at the Emory Vaccine Center in Atlanta. In 2016, she received the Schaffer Award for Outstanding Postdoctoral Presentation at an international herpesvirus workshop. Her presentation detailed scientific findings generated over several years at Emory.

Kennedy is now an account representative for Omega Bio-Tek in Atlanta, Georgia, where she provides innovative solutions that support scientific research and medical diagnostics.

She has been a strong proponent of mentoring the next generations of scientists, ever since her own mentor at Centre provided her first summer research opportunity on campus, sparking her scientific passion. Later, she worked with ninth-grade inner city students while she was studying at Harvard and assisted the Posse Foundation with a recruitment event. More recently, she has helped with Emory’s Office of Postdoctoral Education, and she spent three years on Emory’s Minority Postdoctoral Council.