Southern Adventist University announces name for new school of business

July 20, 2023

Caleb Figgures,

COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. (WDEF) – Southern Adventist University announced a new name for their school of business. They’re calling it the Ruth McKee School of Business.

The university will name its new business school after the late Ruth McKee. Ruth and her husband, O.D., founded McKee Foods Corporation, which is best known for Little Debbie snacks. They founded the company in Chattanooga in 1934.

Southern Adventist chose to name their new business school after McKee because of her presence in the McKee Foods company. They said she managed personnel, purchasing, transportation and other aspects of a growing business. At the same time, she was raising a family as well.

Mike McKee is the current CEO of McKee Foods, and he is the grandson of Ruth and her husband. “Ruth’s passion was always in teaching,” said Mike McKee. “It was this career she left behind to help launch the company, so I find it such a fitting tribute to give her name to Southern Adventist University’s School of Business where generations of business minds will be shaped by a top-notch educational institution that she loved so dearly.”

Ruth McKee and her husband were also both students at Southern Adventist University.

“To me, anytime a university names a school is a significant event,” said Southern Adventist University President Ken Shaw. “The McKee name has a great reputation, and that McKee name and southern Avenue University combined will heighten the awareness of our school of business moving forward. We are just delighted with that partnership.”

This is the second building the university has named after a McKee family member. The first was McKee Library. They also dedicated their campus’s prayer garden to McKee as well.