It was just announced that George Roberts (who co-founded KKR with cousin Henry Kravis) will deliver the keynote address at the College’s 66th Annual Commencement ceremonies set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 18.

1. George R. Roberts - Philanthropist,
and Co-Founder of Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts & Co. — Announced as 2013
Commencement Speaker

2. CLAREMONT, Calif. — Claremont McKenna College (CMC) has announced
that Trustee and financier George R. Roberts ’66 P’93, Co-founder of Kohlberg
Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and its co-chairman and co-chief executive officer,
will deliver the keynote address at the College’s 66th Annual Commencement
ceremonies set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 18. The ceremony, honoring the
Class of 2013, will be held on Pritzlaff Field, south of Bauer Center.
A generous champion of his undergraduate alma mater, Roberts’ name is
entwined with daily life at CMC, including the conclusion last March of the
George R. Roberts Faculty Challenge. The gift-matching measure, launched in
2006, was the largest gift in the history of the College for direct faculty support,
and raised a total of $60 million to build, support, and strengthen the College’s
academic environment with exceptional scholars committed to teaching and
research. Faculty members who received an endowed chair under the Roberts
Faculty Leadership Initiative are designated as George R. Roberts Fellows.
Within the same year that the Challenge reached its successful conclusion,
Roberts then gave an unrestricted gift of $50 million to the College, which
pushed the College past its $600 million Campaign for Claremont McKenna
goal. Announced in December 2012, his unrestricted gift led the Board of
Trustees to designate in his honor a state-of-the-art new fitness and athletics
facility as the Roberts Pavilion.

3. “Claremont McKenna College is honored to welcome George Roberts as this
year’s keynote speaker,” said Pamela Gann, president of the College. “For me,
personally, having George Roberts serve as our speaker at my last
Commencement as president is most gratifying. He is the embodiment of all
that CMC values. Simply put, George Roberts exemplifies visionary and
transformative leadership.”
A pioneer of the private equity industry, George Roberts co-founded Kohlberg
Kravis Roberts & Co. in 1976. For more than 30 years, along with KKR co-
founder and CMC Trustee Henry R. Kravis ’67, he has led the firm in its growth
into a leading global alternative asset manager.
He is actively involved in managing the firm and serves on each of the regional
Private Equity Investment and Portfolio Management committees. Roberts also
has served as a director or trustee of several cultural and educational
institutions, including Claremont McKenna College. In addition to his generous
philanthropy at CMC, he is the founder and chairman of the board of directors
of the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF), a San Francisco-based
venture philanthropy organization that creates jobs and employment
opportunities for people facing the greatest barriers to work. REDF provides
equity-like grants and business assistance to a portfolio of nonprofits in
California to start and expand social enterprises — nonprofit-operated
businesses selling goods and services demanded by the marketplace, while
intentionally employing young people and adults who would otherwise face
bleak prospects of ever getting a job.

4. Roberts earned his bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College in
1966, and a J.D. from the University of California (Hastings) Law School in
1969. He has more than four decades of experience financing, analyzing, and
investing in public and private companies, as well as serving on the boards of a
number of KKR portfolio companies.
His philanthropy already touches many facets of the College’s life. In addition to
the extraordinary Roberts faculty fundraising challenge and his unrestricted gift
to the Campaign, Roberts has also supported construction of two academic
buildings — Roberts North and Roberts South, which house classrooms and
faculty offices — as well as the founding of the Roberts Environmental Center.
Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is an independent, coeducational liberal
arts college. Established in 1946, CMC is a member of The Claremont
Colleges, a consortium of seven independent institutions in Claremont,
California.
Original article about George Roberts published February 18 2013 on
heraldonline.com