Inspirational business leader and author Trudy Cathy White will deliver Grove City College’s J. Paul Sticht ’39 Memorial Lecture in Business and Ethics at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 in Ketler Auditorium of the Pew Fine Arts Center.
White, the youngest child of Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy and his wife Jeannette, started out in the family business – for which she remains an ambassador – and then founded an international ministry with her husband. In all her efforts, White is led by her commitment to be used by God to invest in relationships, influence culture, and inspire godly character in the next generation.
Dr. Michelle McFeaters ’88 ’02, dean of the School of Business and professor of Accounting, said White can provide a great example and sound guidance for students. She noted White and her family’s desire to serve others within a Christian and Gospel-focused framing and an understanding that their work is a part of God’s bigger work in the world.
“This has meant that they have put their faith and understanding of the Gospel into practice in a variety of ways, both in the for-profit and non-profit realms. Students will learn about what it takes to live out Christian ethics in the framework of the calling to be salt and light in the world,” McFeaters said.
White is Truett and Jeannette Cathy’s only daughter. At just nineteen years old, she opened Birmingham, Alabama’s second Chick-fil-A restaurant, making her one of the youngest Operators in Chick-fil-A’s history.
White and her husband, John, served in international missions for 20 years with the International Mission Board. Upon completing their work with the IMB, they co-founded Lifeshape and Impact 360 Institute, established to cultivate followers of Jesus by serving our global neighbors. Always up for a new challenge, Trudy also accepted an offer to serve as the Director of WinShape Camps for Girls, a summer camp founded by her parents in 1984, a role she held for thirteen years.
Trudy Cathy White is nationally known as an influential leader and speaker. She is the author of several books, including “Along the Way,” “Climb Every Mountain,” and “A Quiet Strength,” a poignant memoir about her beloved mother, Jeannette Cathy.
The J. Paul Sticht ’39 Memorial Lecture in Business and Ethics is free and open to the public. The annual lecture is given in honor of J. Paul Sticht ’39, a legendary corporate executive who helmed R. J. Reynolds Industries, Trans World Airlines, Campbell Soup, and Federated Department Stores over a long career. Born in western Pennsylvania, Sticht worked his way through Grove City College, where he met his wife, Ferne. He joined the College’s Board of Trustees in 1963 and was Chairman from 1998 to 2003. He died in 2008.