Rome businessman Robert H. Ledbetter Sr. to speak at Fall Commencement Ceremonies

November 22, 2010 - Rome businessman Robert H. Ledbetter Sr. will be the featured speaker at Shorter University’s fall commencement ceremonies on Friday, Dec. 10, and Saturday, Dec. 11. Three ceremonies are planned including one at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10 (for traditional program and master’s graduates), one at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11, (for Associate of Science and Bachelor of Science in Education graduates from the College of Adult and Professional Programs) and one at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11, (for Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and Bachelor of Science in Management graduates from CAPP). All ceremonies will be held in the Winthrop-King Centre on Shorter’s Rome campus.

A Rome native, Mr. Ledbetter is a well-known real estate developer and investor. He serves as chairman and CEO of R.H. Ledbetter Properties, Inc., which was ranked among the top 100 retail real estate owners in the nation in 2009 by Retail Traffic magazine. The company’s portfolio consists of more than 1.3 million square feet of investment properties located in communities such as Rome, Cartersville, Dalton, Jasper and Ellijay, Ga.; Knoxville and Goodlettsville, Tenn.; and suburban Indianapolis, Ind. In 2010, a gift from Mr. Ledbetter enabled the location of Shorter’s School of Business in the MidTown Crossing Shopping Center. In honor of his generosity, the business school is now named the Robert H. Ledbetter College of Business. Mr. Ledbetter is a graduate of Culver Summer School, Darlington School and Culver Military Academy. He earned the Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1958 and later served in the United States Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga as a LTJG.

The establishment of the Ledbetter College of Business at Shorter represents the continuation of a close relationship between the Ledbetter family and the university which dates back nearly to Shorter’s founding in 1873. One of the Shorter’s first trustees was Capt. A.W. Ledbetter, a Civil War veteran who established a number of businesses in Rome; he served as a Shorter College trustee for 26 years and was named a trustee emeritus of the institution. Mr. Ledbetter’s father, Allison W. Ledbetter, Sr., later served on the college’s Board of Trustees and, in the 1950s, became the first president of the Shorter College Scholarship Fund, Inc., which was established by a group of Rome businessmen who sought to provide financial support for local youth to attend Shorter.

Robert H. Ledbetter, Sr. served on Shorter’s Board of Trustees from 2003 to 2005 and on the college’s Board of Visitors from 1996 to 2000. In 2008, he served as honorary chairman of the Pursuit of Excellence Campaign for Shorter College Athletics. Mr. Ledbetter financially supported the development of the on-campus baseball complex, which also bears his name.

Founded in 1873, Shorter University is a Christian university committed to excellence in education. Since 2003, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Shorter among the South’s best baccalaureate colleges, and The Princeton Review annually includes Shorter on its lists of best value and best Southeastern colleges. The university offers traditional bachelor’s degree programs in 48 major areas as well as undergraduate degree programs for working adults, master’s programs, and online courses and degrees. For more information, visit www.shorter.edu.

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