Geoffrey Kershner, Academy CEO, to give Commencement address

Geoffrey Kershner

Geoffrey Kershner, chief executive officer of the Academy Center of the Arts, will serve as Randolph’s 2025 Commencement speaker.

The ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 11.

“Geoff is an outstanding young leader in our community whose commitment to transforming place through the arts has transformed Lynchburg,” said President Sue Ott Rowlands.

Kershner is also a founding member and former artistic director of Endstation Theatre Company. During his tenure, Endstation received the Rising Star award from the Virginians for the Arts and was honored with the City of Lynchburg’s Vice Mayor’s Award of Excellence.

Under his leadership at the Academy, the organization increased need-based scholarships for arts programming, grew its overall operating budget, and successfully completed a capital campaign for the historic theater restoration project, which reopened in 2018.

That same year, Kershner was named the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance’s “Young Professional to Watch.”

He was a member of the National Arts Strategies’ 2014-2015 Chief Executive Cohort, currently serves on the board of Virginians for the Arts, and is an advisor for the Radically Rural Conference’s arts track.

“Randolph College holds a special place in my heart—not only as the home of Endstation Theatre Company, which I founded, but as an institution that deeply values the arts, expression, and individualism,” Kershner said. “Having had the privilege of teaching courses here in the past, I have witnessed firsthand the College’s commitment to fostering creativity and critical thinking. As a neighbor to this vibrant campus, I take great pride in seeing its impact on our community, and I especially admire that its leadership understands the power of the arts, with a president who is an artist herself. I am honored to celebrate this moment with the Randolph community.”

For more information about Commencement Weekend, visit www.randolphcollege.edu/commencement.