POTSDAM – A SUNY Potsdam graduate in upper management at a Fortune 100 company will return to campus as the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Speaker on April 28.

Eileen Whelley, who graduated in 1976, is executive vice president Hartford Financial Services Group. She will speak to classes in the Women’s and Gender Studies program and will also offer two sessions that are free and open to the public.

On Thursday, April 28, Whelley will present an informal career session entitled “The Real World... Prepare Now to Succeed Later,” from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. in Sisson Hall Room 142.

And at 7:30 p.m. that evening, she will lead an informal discussion on women in leadership, entitled “Making It In Today’s Job Market: Is It Still a Man’s World?” in Barrington Student Union Room 204.

Whelley majored in sociology at SUNY Potsdam and later earned her master’s degree from Bowling Green State University.

At The Hartford, Whelley reports to the chairman and is a member of the executive leadership team, and as such has helped guide the business through the financial crisis.

One of SUNY Potsdam’s highest honors, the Distinguished Alumni Speaker Award is reserved for the College’s most accomplished alumni.