Kabara receives honorary doctorate from Saint Mary’s

Dr. Jon Kabara of Galena, Ill., receives an honorary doctorate from Brother Louis DeThomasis, FSC, chancellor of Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, left, and Michael Meagher, chairman of the SMU Board of Trustees, right.


Dr. Jon Kabara addresses the Saint Mary’s University graduates of 2008, while Brother Louis DeThomasis, FSC, chancellor of Saint Mary’s, looks on.

WINONA, Minn. — During its undergraduate commencement ceremony Saturday, May 10, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota awarded an honorary Doctorate of Ethical Leadership to Dr. Jon Kabara, a 1948 alumnus from Galena, Ill.

Dr. Kabara has dedicated his life to medical research. He served as a professor at the University of Detroit and later Michigan State University for more than 30 years, and in 1969, he helped establish the first affiliated school of osteopathic medicine at a major university (Michigan State). An expert in the field of dietary fats and oils, Dr. Kabara has been awarded more than 16 U.S. and foreign patents and is credited with more than 200 publications, including eight books.

In 2005, Dr. Kabara and his wife, Betty, began their commitment of supporting the growth of entrepreneurship at SMU. Through a transformational gift, they established the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

The lifelong entrepreneur had this advice for students, “Make ‘ethical business’ more than an oxymoron term. As leaders for the next generation, our country/world needs your special talents and efforts to help form a truly peaceful global economy.”

Dr. Kabara also encourages students to have a passion for what they do: “My final piece of advice is this secret; if you can dream it, you can make it happen. So dream big.”