Heywood Fralin, a lifelong Roanoke resident, has been given the key to the city and named the 2024 Roanoke citizen of the year.

Fralin has dedicated his life to supporting higher education and business in the state and “played a pivotal role in advancing medical research and innovation,” Mayor Sherman Lea said.

“We are very fortunate to have such a committed friend and supporter of the work that we do,” said Michael Friedlander, executive director of the research institute and Virginia Tech vice president for health sciences and technology.

The Fralin family, with donations from Heywood Fralin and his wife, Cynthia, and a family trust, gave $50 million in 2018 to support the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at the Virginia Tech Carilion Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke.

 A steadfast supporter of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, he has served on multiple boards and councils, including the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech boards of visitors, the Virginia Business Higher Education Council, the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education Reform Innovation and Investment, the Virginia Western Community College Foundation, the Virginia Historical Society, the Roanoke Valley Business Council and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.