Roger E. Truitt of Paducah, Ky., retired senior vice president of the energy company ARCO and retired president of ARCO Products Co., will be the commencement speaker during two graduation ceremonies at Missouri University of Science and Technology in December.

The first ceremony, for all graduate candidates and non-engineering candidates, will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14. More than 400 degree will be awarded during Friday’s ceremony.

The second ceremony, for all undergraduate engineering candidates, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 15. Nearly 300 degrees will be awarded during Saturday’s ceremony. Truitt will be the featured speaker at both events.

During commencement, Truitt will receive the doctor of engineering degree, honoris causa. He earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Missouri S&T in 1971. He was awarded an honorary professional degree in chemical engineering from the university in 1998.

Truitt retired in 2000 as a senior vice president of the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) and president of ARCO Products Co. He began working for ARCO, an energy company, in 1972. In 2004, Truitt and his sons Doug and John founded Kalleo Technologies in Paducah, Ky. The company provides managed IT services to the healthcare industry, local governments and medium-sized businesses.

Truitt is a member of the Missouri S&T Order of the Golden Shillelagh and the Academy of Chemical Engineers. In July 2007, Truitt and his wife, Jean, established the Roger and Jean Truitt Endowed Scholarship to benefit students from Western Kentucky. The Truitts have also supported Bertelsmeyer Hall, Missouri S&T’s new chemical and biological engineering building.

Jean Truitt, who is also a chemical engineer, is also a strong supporter of S&T. She earned a degree from the University of Arizona as well as a MBA in finance from the University of Houston. The Truitts are active in the Paducah community.