Dorothy S. Ridings

Dorothy S. Ridings (BSJ61) is a member of the inaugural class of the Medill Hall of Achievement class of 1997.

Ridings was president and chief executive officer of the Council on Foundations. The Council is a national association of more than 2,100 foundations and corporations that annually give more than $18 billion in charitable grants.

Before joining the Council in March 1996, Ridings served as president and publisher of Knight-Ridder's Bradenton Herald in Bradenton, Fla. She also has served as a Knight-Ridder general executive while based in Charlotte, N.C., and held editorial and reporting positions at the Kentucky Business Ledger, The Washington Post, and the Charlotte Observer.

Ridings served as president of the League of Women Voters of the United States from 1982 through 1986. She has been a trustee of the Ford Foundation and a director of the Benton Foundation and chairs the boards of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the National Civic League.

In addition to her undergraduate degree from Medill, Ridings also holds a master's degree from the University of North Carolina. Ridings has honorary degrees from Spalding University, the University of Louisville and the University of Charleston.