Ledbetter to Moderate Q&A During First Lady Laura Bush Lecture

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Robyn Starling Ledbetter and Former First Lady Laura W. Bush

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. _ Faculty member and alumna Robyn Starling Ledbetter will moderate the question-and-answer portion of Laura W. Bush's distinguished lecture. Mrs. Bush, first lady of the United States (2001-09), will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in Bud Walton Arena as part of the University of Arkansas student sponsored Distinguished Lecture Series.  

Ledbetter is the director of student media in the Office of Student Affairs and oversees the U of A's six student media entities: UATV, The Arkansas Traveler, Main Hill Media, Hill Magazine, the Razorback Yearbook and KXUA. 

She has been a part of the broadcast journalism faculty in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media for more than 10 years and was listed as one of the country's top-10 journalism educators of the year in the January 2019 edition of Crain's NewsPro magazine. She specializes in on-air performance, live reporting and storytelling.  

As first lady, Mrs. Bush advanced literacy and education to support America's young people. Today, as the Chair of the Woman's Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute, she continues her work on global healthcare innovations, education reform, empowering women in emerging democracies and supporting the men and women who have served in America's military.

Following her lecture, Mrs. Bush will answer questions from students presented by Ledbetter. Members of the Distinguished Lectures Committee chose Ledbetter for this role, in part, because of her experience as an educator, professional interview and performance coach, and former news anchor and reporter.

Ledbetter holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in journalism, both from the University of Arkansas. She coached and mentored Miss America 2017, Savvy Shields, through her journey as a competitor in the Miss America Organization.  During her 12 years as a local director for the Miss Arkansas Organization, Ledbetter had four state titleholders, seven top 10 finalists and numerous Overall Interview and preliminary winners.

The Thursday evening event will be general seating, and tickets will not be issued. The lecture is open to the public but University of Arkansas students will be given preference. 

Doors will open at 6 p.m. for students and 6:15 for the general public. Each person entering the arena will be required to pass through a security checkpoint. Please see logistics details for more information on ticketing, seating, parking, shuttle service, security and prohibited/permitted items for the lecture and allow extra time to accommodate security procedures. 

This event is sponsored by the Distinguished Lectures Committee through the Office of Student Activities and is supported by the Student Activities Fee. For questions or for accommodations due to disability please contact the Office of Student Activities, osa@uark.edu or call 479-575-5255. The Distinguished Lectures Committee is a program in the Division of Student Affairs.