A Lawrence High graduate and one of the world’s 100 most influential people, according to Time magazine, will be the keynote speaker at the Lawrence Schools Foundation’s annual community education breakfast.

Larry Kwak, a 1977 LHS graduate and cancer researcher at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, will speak at the Sept. 21 event. Kwak is the chairman of the department of lymphoma and myeloma and is the associate director of the Center for Cancer Immunology Research at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Before coming to M.D. Anderson in 2004, Kwak was head of the vaccine biology section, experimental transplantation and immunology branch at the National Cancer Institute for 12 years.

In 2010, Kwak was named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people for his research in finding vaccines to fight cancer. The same year, Kwak was inducted into the LHS Hall of Fame.

“It continues to amaze me how many hugely successful people come out of the Lawrence public schools,” said Susan Esau, executive director of the Lawrence Schools Foundation. “On the other hand, that shouldn’t amaze me because we have such a great school district. We should expect that to happen.”

Part of the money raised at the breakfast, which always features a graduate of Lawrence public schools, goes to the pre-kindergarten program at Kennedy School.

The breakfast will be held at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 21 at the Holiday Inn Lawrence, 200 McDonald Drive.

The Lawrence Education Foundation is selling sponsored tables for the event and taking reservations. For more information call 330-2790.