Who is Behind the Clendenin Graduate Fellows Program?
John Clendenin grew up in El Paso, Texas where he met his late wife Margaret Ann. Ann and
John married in 1954 while John was still in college at Northwestern University in Illinois. He
received his Bachelor’s Degree from Northwestern and served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force.
During his career of 41 years in the telecommunications industry, John worked for Illinois Bell,
Pacific Northwest Bell, AT&T, Southern Bell, and, finally, for BellSouth, where he served as
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1984 through 1996, and as Chairman through 1997.
During his time in Atlanta, John served on various boards including serving as a member of the
Home Depot Board of Directors until his retirement in 2008. John Clendenin was inducted into
the Atlanta Business Hall of Fame after retiring in 1996. Listed in the “100 Most Powerful and
Influential People in Georgia” by Georgia Trend in 1995, Mr. Clendenin was also the chairman
of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the national president of the Boy Scouts and was a member
of the Board of Governors of the American Red Cross.
The Clendenins have been ardent supporters to KSU for many years. In 1999, John Clendenin
and his wife, Ann contributed $1 million to build and equip high technology classrooms in the
Ann and John Clendenin Computer Science Building. In June 2008, John Clendenin and his son
Thomas endowed the Clendenin Graduate Fellows Program at KSU with a $1 million
contribution. Through the Clendenin Fellows Program, John is fulfilling a long-held desire to
contribute to graduate education. While working and supporting a young family upon his
graduation from Northwestern University, John was unable to afford graduate school. Drawing
upon his experience, John wanted to support a graduate program intended to be meaningful to
individuals and to society.
The Clendenin Graduate Fellows is the first graduate fellowship program of its kind at KSU and
will seek to attract outstanding individuals interested in a master’s or doctoral degree. The
highly competitive fellowships are open to students enrolled in any accredited university, but
preference will be given to those current enrolled or teaching at Kennesaw State.
Thomas Clendenin, KSU Foundation Trustee and KSU advisory board member and his sister
Mary K. Clendenin will play significant roles in the development and future of the Clendenin
Graduate Fellows Program.