MSU alumni neurosurgeons to speak at commencement

Two Mississippi State University alumni currently working with the National Football League on concussions will speak at the university’s fall commencement Dec. 8.

Dr. Allen K. Sills Jr. of Franklin, Tennessee will deliver the address for the 9:30 a.m. commencement, and Dr. John D. Davis IV of Flowood will deliver the address at the 4 p.m. ceremony. Both men graduated MSU in biological engineering and hold medical degrees from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Both men also served as MSU student body president.

“We tell prospective students that no matter where they want to go in life, Mississippi State University can help them get there,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. Having Sills and Davis as graduation speakers “will provide powerful reinforcement to that point by illustrating that two Bulldogs have achieved national prominence in the field of medicine and highlight the solid foundation and preparation they received at MSU.”

Sills is the first chief medical officer of the NFL and is a professor of neurological surgery, orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. He is the founder of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center, which specializes in the treatment of athletes with concussion problems. He has cared for college and professional athletes from all sports and has served as the consulting team neurosurgeon for MSU athletics for the past 18 years. He is a Starkville native.

Davis, a Jackson native, is a surgery division physician at New South Neurospine in Flowood. He has particular interest in cervical spine and neck disorders. He was named one of the NFL’s unaffiliated neurotrama consultant’s for the 2017 season. As a consultant, he helps oversee evaluations and identify players who may have suffered concussions. He has served on the board of directors of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and as chairman of the board of directors of NeurosurgeryPAC, a neurosurgery poliitical action committee.

Both commencement ceremonies will be held in the Humphrey Coliseum. More than 1,400 students are candidates for December degrees.