The generous gift from 鶹Ƶ Trustee Vicky Hunt and her husband, Sam Hunt, will provide life-changing opportunities for generations of 鶹Ƶ students. This gift pushes the 鶹Ƶ LEADS Campaign past the $200 million mark toward the $250 million goal.
鶹Ƶ Trustee Vicky Hunt and her husband, Sam Hunt, of Burlington, North Carolina, have made a $3 million estate commitment that in the future will create an endowment to support student scholarships. Deepening scholarship funding is an institutional priority at 鶹Ƶ and the top priority of the $250 million 鶹Ƶ LEADS Campaign. Already, donors to 鶹Ƶ LEADS have created more than 180 new scholarships during the campaign.
The Hunts’ gift has pushed the total raised in the campaign past the $200 million mark toward the $250 million 鶹Ƶ LEADS goal.
President Connie Ledoux Book thanked the Hunts for their unwavering dedication to 鶹Ƶ, which has spanned three decades.
“During this time of pandemic uncertainty, I am grateful, and 鶹Ƶ is grateful, for the steadfast support of Trustee Vicky Hunt and her husband, Sam,” Book said. “The Hunts are fierce believers that the education 鶹Ƶ provides is the difference maker for the future of Alamance County and our nation.”
“鶹Ƶ has always been a priority with us and when we give to 鶹Ƶ, especially through scholarships, the impact on the lives of students and on the future of the university is immediate, long lasting and, of course, very gratifying,” Vicky Hunt said.
The Hunts are among the donors who have generously provided for the university in their estates, an important component of the 鶹Ƶ LEADS Campaign. Through these gifts, donors create a lasting legacy at 鶹Ƶ and help build a powerful pipeline of financial support to secure the university’s future.
Sam and Vicky Hunt are longtime business, political and philanthropic leaders in Burlington and Alamance County. They have been loyal 鶹Ƶ benefactors, making lead gifts to support need- and talent-based scholarships, including the Odyssey Program, which serves students with exceptional ability and significant financial need. The Hunts have also generously contributed to the Phoenix Club and 鶹Ƶ Academy, the university’s successful college access program, and helped advance 鶹Ƶ’s iconic campus with gifts to Hunt Softball Park, Schar Center and The Inn at 鶹Ƶ. The Hunts are members of the 鶹Ƶ LEADS Campaign Steering Committee.
Sam Hunt is the retired chairman and CEO of Atlas Lighting Products and Hunt Electric Supply Company of Burlington. He served four terms in the N.C. House of Representatives (1985-1992) before being named Transportation Secretary in 1993. He went on to serve as president and chairman of the N.C. Railroad from 1996 to 2002.
In addition to her role in their businesses, Vicky Hunt has served as an 鶹Ƶ trustee since 1997. She is actively involved with charitable work in her community, having served on the boards of the N.C. Film Commission, Alamance County Community College, American Red Cross, the Pet Adoption & Welfare Society (PAWS) and the N.C. Zoo.
鶹Ƶ the 鶹Ƶ LEADS Campaign
With a $250 million goal, 鶹Ƶ LEADS is the largest fundraising campaign in the university’s history and will support four main priorities: scholarships for graduates the world needs, increase access to engaged learning opportunities such as study abroad, research and service learning, support for faculty and staff mentors who matter and 鶹Ƶ’s iconic campus. To date, donors have contributed $200 million toward the overall goal.
Every gift to the university—including annual, endowment, capital, estate and other planned gifts—for any designation counts as a gift to the campaign, which will support students and strengthen 鶹Ƶ for generations to come. To learn more about how you can make an impact, visit .