The Kennedy name is synonymous with Barton College. Dr. K.D. Kennedy, Jr., and his family have been a driving force the past three decades with their dedication and commitment to higher education, which has significantly enhanced the life of Barton College.

Following in the footsteps of his late father, K.D., Kennedy, Sr., Kennedy was a longtime trustee of the College and served five years as Chair of the Board.  Upon his retirement from the Board, Kennedy was elected a Trustee Emeritus.

Kennedy was also honored by Barton in 2008 with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Kennedy’s son, Ken Kennedy, currently serves as a member of the Barton College Board of Trustees.

As chair of the Campaign for Barton – Enriching the Tradition in the 1990s, he set the tone for giving with his own multi-million gift. Kennedy’s family was honored with the naming of the Kennedy Recreation and Intramural Center (KRIC) in 1997 and as part of that campaign, he and his wife, Sara Lynn, made a significant contribution for the construction of the Bruce W. Riley Plaza.

In addition, Kennedy endowed the Sara Lynn Riley Kennedy Music Recording Studio on campus and established the Dorothy and K.D. Kennedy Endowed Chair of Business in the Barton College School of Business.

Kennedy was also diligent in raising awareness for the $21 million Centennial Campaign for Barton College and the College’s Black Box Theatre Campaign effort, with a naming gift for the Kennedy Family Theatre.

Among the most recent gifts to the College were the establishment of the K.D. Kennedy, Jr., Rare Book Room in the Willis N. Hackey Library in September of 2014 and a one million lead gift to Barton from Electric Supply Company and the Kennedy family for the naming of Electric Supply Company Field (a multi purpose synthetic turf field located at Truist Stadium) in May of 2019.

A native of Wilson, N.C., Kennedy earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electric Engineering from Duke University before earning his Master of Science in Electric Engineering from North Carolina State University.

Kennedy also attended one summer school session at A.C.C. /Barton College, which provided himself with an appreciation for the benefits of a small, private, liberal arts college.

Kennedy, a native of Wadesboro, N.C., and his wife, Sara Lynn Riley Kennedy, make their home in Raleigh, N.C. The couple has four grown children (Ken III, Katherine, Lauren and Michael) and 10 grandchildren (Fiona Kelly, Aidan, Gavin Kelly, Henry Garliss, Oscar Garliss, Scarlett Garliss, Riley Campbell, Connor Kennedy, Will Kennedy, and Ben Kennedy).

Kennedy is a well-respected business leader in North Carolina, serving as CEO of Electric Supply Company of Raleigh, N.C., one of the Southeast’s largest suppliers of electric equipment.

In addition, Kennedy is an avid writer and poet, and is well-versed in Robert Burns’ life and writings. Kennedy’s books include Our Place in Time (2002), Waiting Out in the Yard (2006), For Rhyme or Reason (2012) and Progenitors (2014).