Ledbetter's own education started right here in Arkansas. After graduating from Little Rock Central High School, he attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1951. Ledbetter returned to Arkansas after Princeton and earned a law degree from the University of Arkansas in 1954. After serving in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps from 1955-1957, he earned a Ph.D. in political science from Northwestern University in 1961. He taught briefly at Northwestern after graduating before returning home to Arkansas to start a long career as an educator in Little Rock.
Educator and Leader at UA Little Rock
Ledbetter joined the faculty of Little Rock University, the precursor to what is now the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, in 1960 as an assistant professor of political science. From 1966 to 1977, Ledbetter was the chair of the Political Science and Criminal Justice Department. Recognizing his commitment to education, the Greater Little Rock Federation of Women’s Club designated Ledbetter as 1968 “Educator of the Year.” In 1978, Ledbetter was named dean of the College of Liberal Arts, a position he held until 1988. Afterwards, Ledbetter continued as a professor of political science until his retirement in 1997, when he was awarded professor emeritus status.
As central as Ledbetter was over the course of 48 years to students and colleagues in the Department of Political Science, his role in making UA Little Rock what it is today was also significant. Though he had only been on the faculty for nine years, by 1969 Ledbetter had served as an active figure in moving the independent, privately-funded Little Rock University into the University of Arkansas System.
Ledbetter speaks about the merger of Little Rock University into the University of Arkansas System as noted in a 2009 story on the university's website, Ledbetter was responsible for building UA Little Rock in part through his recruitment of talented faculty. In 1971, Ledbetter was one of the main reasons Dr. Joel Anderson decided to join the university's faculty as assistant professor in the Department of Political Science. Anderson, Chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock since 2003, says of Ledbetter, “He is an outstanding figure in the development of this University. With high visibility as a progressive legislator, he added prestige to the university.”
Ledbetter was one of the creators of a two-year Associate of Arts Degree in Law Enforcement program, which was funded by federal grants that funded the students' tuition and books. The 1971-1972 school year saw over one hundred students had enrolled in this program, which was designed for state and municipal police. This degree plan is still available to students at UA Little Rock.
Philanthropist at UA Little Rock
Ledbetter's commitment to education extended far beyond the classroom. He and his wife Brownie supported UA Little Rock and its students through scholarships, endowments, and donations.
In 1981, Ledbetter helped to found the Center of Arkansas Studies (CAS) at UA Little Rock, which was partially funded through a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. CAS gave the first Virginia C. Ledbetter Prize, named after Ledbetter’s mother, in 1985. Ledbetter also created a Ledbetter Monograph Series on Arkansas Culture within CAS in 2002 through a $360,000 endowment, and the monograph series continued until 2010. In 2010, the Center for Arkansas Studies was combined with the UA Little Rock Archives at the Arkansas Studies Institute to create the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture. His endowment was redirected toward encouraging research into the state's legislative history and renamed the Cal Ledbetter Arkansas Legislative Institute Endowment.
*The banner photo shows Cal Ledbetter with school group in front of Arkansas State Capitol, ca. 1970s. This photograph is from the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture's Calvin R. Ledbetter, Jr., Papers, 1964-1988 (UALR.MS.0191).
