2008 Honorary Degree
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After a successful career in engineering and management, Sheehan is retired and lives in Kokomo, Ind.
Born and raised in Indianapolis, he attended General Motors Institute as a cooperative student at Allison Division of General Motors and completed his bachelor's of science degree in 1962. He also completed bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering at Purdue in 1965 and went on to receive the Outstanding Electrical Engineer and Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Awards in 1998.
In 1965, Sheehan joined Delco Electronics Corp. in Kokomo as a project design engineer and later transferred to manufacturing, which led to plant manager. Sheehan served as the assistant general sales manager for a year before becoming the manager of purchasing and material control. In 1980, he was named the general sales manager of the Diesel Equipment Division in Grand Rapids, Mich. From 1980 until the early1990s, Sheehan held many director positions around the Midwest and returned to Kokomo with the Air Controls Business Unit.
In 1993, he became the president of Delco Electronics Asia/Pacific and was headquartered in Singapore. Two years later he returned to Kokomo to become vice president and chief operating officer of the company. In 1997, Sheehan was appointed general director of operations for Delco Electronics Division, a position that he held until his retirement in January 1998.
From 1986 until his retirement in 1998, Sheehan was the GM key executive at Purdue University and was responsible for all GM relations activities at Purdue, including the management of substantial financial grants to the university.
In 1998, Sheehan joined Syndicate Sales as the president. After three years, he retired again in 2001.
Since his retirement, Sheehan has served as an outside director of several firms and is actively involved in the Kokomo/Howard County community, St. Patrick Catholic Church and service to Purdue. This service includes membership on the College of Technology Dean's Executive Council and the Campaign for Purdue National Steering Committee. Sheehan has made generous gifts and provided other valuable service to Purdue.
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