John Clendenin

May 15, 2001
Commencement Speech
Kennesaw State University

Speaker: John Clendenin
Retired Chairman and CEO, BellSouth

Clendenin lecture

John Clendenin biography

John Clendenin, is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of BellSouth. In addition to achieving great success in business during 41 years in the telecommunications industry, Mr. Clendenin has distinguished himself as a leading community steward, both locally and nationally. During the 16 years he and his wife, Ann, lived in Atlanta, he served variously as chairman of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the United Way Campaign, the Woodruff Arts Center and as president of the Atlanta Council of the Boy Scouts.

On a national scale, he served as chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the National Alliance of Business, chairman of the Committee for Economic Development, national president of the Boy Scouts, national chairman of Junior Achievement and as a member of the Board of Governors of the American Red Cross.

What unites Mr. Clendenin’s achievements in business and in community service is an abiding sense of his responsibilities as a citizen. This is nowhere more evident than in his lifelong advocacy of education, which continues in the form of a charitable trust he and Ann have established to support the educational community.

Kennesaw State University has been the beneficiary of the Clendenins’ support and generosity, receiving a gift of $1 million in 1999 toward the building of the Ann and John Clendenin Computer Science and Mathematics Building. Their phenomenal support underscores the values Mr. Clendenin has long espoused to his colleagues in the business community, as he has called upon them to make advocacy of education a top priority.

Naming the Ann and John Clendenin Computer Science and Mathematics Building allowed Mr. Clendenin to recognize the crucial role his wife has played in his success. Ann Clendenin has always been an active participant in his professional life, and she herself has been a tireless community advocate. Their dedication to service is being ably carried forward by their three children, Jessica, Joshua, and Tom. Kennesaw State University is proud to claim Tom Clendenin as one of its foundation trustees.

Since his retirement, Mr. Clendenin has remained active in business as a member of several corporate boards, including The Home Depot, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Equifax, National Service Industries and The Kroger Company. He and Ann currently live in West Palm Beach, Florida, although they still spend considerable time in Atlanta visiting their children and 10 grandchildren.

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