Professor Ledbetter to Give "Last Lecture"

Funded by the Lilly Endowment Vocation Initiative, the pretext of the “Last Lecture” talks is that the speaker is about to retire and has been asked to sum up in a final lecture to students what they believe has made the work they've dedicated themselves to meaningful and worthwhile. Given a "last" chance, what's worth saying? What wisdom would be most important to pass on? What challenges have to go unfulfilled?

Ledbetter earned her Ph.D. from the Laboratory of Genetics at The Rockefeller University in New York, N.Y. and her B.A. from Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. Before joining the Holy Cross faculty in 1980, she held various positions at Dartmouth Medical School.

During her time at Holy Cross she has served as the College's graduate studies advisor and has been active in promoting science careers for women. She has also worked with high school students and senior citizen groups on stem cell research, genomics and cloning projects.

Over the past 22 years, Ledbetter has directed more than 60 undergraduate research projects. She routinely publishes with undergraduates, and has co-authored 35 papers, lab manuals and abstracts, many with undergraduate students.

A member of several professional scientific organizations, she received the National Science Foundation (NSF) 2003 Director’s Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars last June. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the NSF for excellence in both teaching and research. Ledbetter was among only six college and university faculty members nationwide to earn this distinction.