Innovator and entrepreneur Jim McKelvey will headline the 2026 Rockhurst University Leadership Series event, scheduled for 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 1, at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 1601 Broadway Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64108.

A passionate and dynamic speaker on the importance of using innovation to solve problems, McKelvey will draw on an eclectic background at the ground floor of a game-changing tech startup, as a guide for U.S. monetary policy, and as a high-profile glass blower to argue for entrepreneurship as a foundation for community improvement.

Jim McKelvey is best known for co-founding Square, now called Block; a trustee of Washington University, now called WashU; and former Chair of the St. Louis Federal Reserve. McKelvey is also an artist/designer who authored the world’s top textbook on glassblowing. His industrial designs are in both the Smithsonian and Museum of Modern Art. He co-founded Third Degree Glass Factory, one of the top centers for glass artwork. McKelvey’s current projects include creating the world’s first plastic-free diaper and radically increasing the speed at which drugs are tested and approved. He and his wife, Anna, are giving away their entire multi-billion-dollar fortune.

This year’s event marks the 14th edition of the Rockhurst University Leadership Series, a long-running tradition bringing some of the world’s foremost thinkers and luminaries to Kansas City to speak on aspects of their leadership. Past guests have included David Brooks, Caroline Kennedy, Joe Montana, Condoleezza Rice and Capt. Scott Kelly.

Also during the event, Rockhurst University will honor the recipients of the 2026 Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics, the Dunn family. For more than a century, the family’s business, J.E. Dunn Construction, has left an identifiable mark on Kansas City and beyond, both as one of the nation’s largest general contractors and through the family’s philanthropic efforts. The company’s longtime CEO, Bill Dunn Sr., is a 1946 graduate of Rockhurst. He and his late wife, Jean, gave each of their sons the gift of a Jesuit education at Rockhurst as they prepared to help lead the family company: Bill Jr., ’70, ’82 EMBA; Terry, ’71; Steve, ’74; Kevin, ’80; and Bob, ’83, ’90 MBA. Those members of the family, along with their spouses, will be honored as part of the event.

The Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics is named for two of Rockhurst’s influential leaders: the late Tom Lyon, Ph.D., and the Rev. Nick Rashford, S.J. Established in 2014, the Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics honors recipients who exemplify high ethical standards of business conduct with excellence in leadership as demonstrated by outstanding initiative, impact of work and inspiration to others. Past recipients include Tom Lyon, Ph.D.; Jane Chu, Ph.D., ’05 EMBA; Mayor Sly James, ’80; Patricia Cleary Miller, Ph.D.; Tom McCullough, ’64, and Tom McDonnell, ’66; Jean Dunn, Wendy Doyle, ’94, Lisa Ginter, ’87, Ama Karikari, M.D., ’07, Marny Sherman, ’75, and Bridgette Williams, ’16 EMBA; Joe Reardon, '90; Madeline Romious, ’95 MBA; Dave Harrison, ’81, and Denny Thum, ’74.

To secure your sponsorship, contact Brent Blazek, associate vice president of advancement, at brent.blazek@rockhurst.edu.

*Standard tickets are $125 and young professional (under 35) are $50 and are available here.