Renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin S. Carson Sr. will deliver the 22nd Carl and Fanny Fribolin Lecture at Keuka College next spring.

One of the highlights of May Day Weekend, Carson will speak Friday, April 30, at 6:30 p.m. in Norton Chapel. It is free and open to the public.

The lecture series carries the names of Geneva resident Carl Fribolin, an emeritus member of the College’s Board of Trustees and recipient of an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 2004, and his late wife.

Carson had a childhood dream of becoming a physician. Growing up in a single parent home and being challenged by dire poverty, poor grades, a horrible temper, and low self-esteem appeared to preclude the realization of that dream, until his mother, with only a third-grade education, challenged her sons to strive for excellence.

Young Ben persevered, and today is a full professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he has directed pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for more than a quarter century. He became the inaugural recipient of a professorship dedicated in his name in May 2008. He is now the Benjamin S. Carson Sr., M.D. and Dr. Evelyn Spiro, R.N. Professor of Pediatric Neurosurgery.

Some career highlights include the first and only successful separation of craniopagus (Siamese) twins joined at the back of the head in 1987, and the first completely successful separation of type-2 vertical craniopagus twins in 1997 in South Africa.  He is interested in all aspects of pediatric neurosurgery, and has a special interest in trigeminal neuralgia (a severe facial pain condition) in adults.

Some of his numerous honors include being:

• named by CNN and TIME magazine as one of the nation’s 20 foremost physicians and scientists in 2001;
• selected by the Library of Congress as one of 89 "Living Legends" on the occasion of its 200th anniversary in 2001;
• appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the President’s Council on Bioethics in 2004;
• received the 2006 Spingarn Medal the highest honor bestowed by the NAACP.
• presented the Ford’s Theatre Lincoln Medal by President Bush at the White House in February 2008.
• awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the land, in June 2008.
• recognized by U.S. News & World Report and Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership as one of "America's Best Leaders" in November 2008.

On Feb. 7, 2009, the movie Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story premiered on TNT and is based on his memoir.

Carson is president and co-founder of the Carson Scholars Fund, which recognizes young people of all backgrounds for exceptional academic and humanitarian accomplishments. The Fund is currently operating in 34 states and the District of Columbia, having awarded more than $ 3.9 million dollars to more than 3,900 scholars. The program also establishes Carson Reading Rooms to encourage young students and their families to discover the pleasure to be found in books and to recognize the true power of learning.

His four books, Gifted Hands, THINK BIG, The Big Picture, and Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose and Live with Acceptable Risk (January 2008), provide inspiration and insight for leading a successful life. Carson has been married for more than 30 years to his wife, Candy, and is the father of three sons. And yes, his mother, Sonya Carson, who made all this possible, is alive and well.

More About Dr. Carson

• Academy of Achievement
• Encyclopedia of World Biography
• Everyday Matters Magazine
• NPR