Gift will establish leadership fellows program


A generous gift from alumnus Hugh Tarbutton Jr. 84Ox will establish the Tarbutton Leadership Fellows Program at Oxford College, Dean Douglas Hicks announced today. Tarbutton Jr. gave the donation in memory of his father, Hugh Tarbutton Sr. 52Ox 55B.

“A signature strength of an Oxford College education is to develop students' capacities of leadership through highly individualized mentoring by faculty and staff,” says Hicks. “Hugh Tarbutton’s remarkable gift will have a huge impact on a select group of exceptionally promising students.”

Students entering Oxford College in the fall of 2018 will be the first class to take advantage of the Tarbutton Leadership Program.

Designed to develop leadership

Participants in the Tarbutton Leadership Fellows Program will be chosen at the end of their first year at Oxford, based on their academic achievement and participation in campus life. With this endowment, the program can provide them with a broad array of leadership opportunities and help them hone their skills toward a lifetime of leadership and service.

A legacy of leadership

Hugh Tarbutton Sr. was a well-known Georgia business and civic leader and longtime supporter of Oxford College and Emory University. He was elected to the Oxford College Board of Counselors (BOC) in 1984 and served continuously on the board until his death in 2015. He and his wife Gena were the major benefactors of Oxford’s Tarbutton Performing Arts Center, which opened in 2001.

Tarbutton Sr.’s Oxford/Emory awards include the 2010 Oxford College R. Carl Chandler Award, the 2008 Emory Medal, the 2001 Oxford College Outstanding Alumnus Award, and the Goizueta Business School's 1997 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.

Tarbutton Jr. has been a member of the BOC since 2001 and served as chair from 2015 to 2017. He led fundraising for the Oxford College Library, which was redeveloped and opened in 2013, and he serves on the BOC’s Executive Committee.

Adds Hicks, “We are deeply grateful for the generosity of Hugh and his many years of service to Oxford College. The Hugh Tarbutton Leadership Fellows Program is a fitting testament to his father’s legacy of leadership.”