Hunts make $1 million gift to Elon’s new HealthEU Center | Today at Elon
The generosity of Elon Trustee Vicky Hunt and her husband Sam Hunt will help create a new facility for holistic health and well-being initiatives to serve students, faculty and staff.
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The campaign to build a new HealthEU Center continues to gain momentum with Trustee Vicky Hunt and her husband Sam Hunt contributing $1 million to the facility, which will be located within Elon’s Innovation Quad, home to the university’s engineering and other STEM programs.
Elon has set a $25 million fundraising goal to make the HealthEU Center a reality. To date, donors have contributed $10.5 million to the project, which will bring academic, wellness, campus recreation and fitness programs together under one roof to support student success and serve faculty and staff. The facility is scheduled to open in summer 2026.
The Hunts, of Burlington, North Carolina, were inspired by the mission of the HealthEU Center: to educate the mind, body and spirit of every student and prepare them with the skills to thrive on campus and throughout their lives. Their gift will name The Phoenix Atrium in the facility, as well as provide additional funding for the Sam and Vicky Hunt Odyssey Scholarship, which the couple endowed in 2017 to assist students with significant financial need, including first-generation college students.
“The impact of Vicky and Sam Hunt’s generosity can be seen across Elon’s campus and in the accomplishments of our remarkable students,” said James B. Piatt Jr., senior vice president for university advancement and external affairs. “By investing in health and wellness at Elon, the Hunts are preparing graduates to succeed and live lives of meaning and purpose.”
The new center is an essential component of the university’s broader HealthEU initiative that focuses on six dimensions of health and wellness: community, emotional, purpose, financial, physical and social. The three-story facility will feature new classrooms, student-faculty research and engagement spaces, multiple floors for wellness and fitness activities and the Mark and Kim Tyson Counseling Center, which will provide space for individual and group therapy, as well as workshops and outreach programs.
Through coursework, workshops and training programs focused on health and wellness, the HealthEU Center will impact all students as they progress through their education and learn essential skills and practices to thrive on campus and throughout each stage of their lives.
The Hunts are among Elon’s most generous and loyal donors, making gifts to name Hunt Atrium, a dynamic and spacious entry point to Founders Hall in the Innovation Quad, featuring open collaboration spaces and assembly areas, tiered bench seating and space for group events, guest speakers and receptions. Their gift to the IQ also endowed the Sam and Vicky Hunt Business Fellows Scholarship in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.
In addition to scholarships, the Hunts have generously supported the Phoenix Club and Elon Academy, the university’s successful college access and success program, and advanced Elon’s iconic campus with gifts to Hunt Softball Park, Schar Center and The Inn at Elon. The couple have also made a $3 million estate gift that in the future will create an endowment to fund scholarships.
Sam Hunt is the retired Chairman and CEO of Atlas Lighting Products and Hunt Electric Supply Company in Burlington. He served four terms in the N.C. House of Representatives before being named Transportation Secretary in 1993. He went on to serve as President and Chairman of the N.C. Railroad from 1996-2002. In addition to her role in their businesses, Vicky Hunt has served on Elon’s Board of Trustees since 1997 and is actively involved with charitable work in her community.
Make An Impact
Many naming opportunities are available in the HealthEU Center, beginning at $50,000. Gift commitments may be made in full or with a pledge over a period of five years. To find out how you can make an impact with your gift, contact Brian Baker, associate vice president for university advancement, at 336.278.7453 or [email protected].
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