Remembering Bob Hunter

The ebullient late administrator created treasured traditions and embodied ACU’s mission and spirit for a lifetime

BY RON HADFIELD

Robert D. “Bob” Hunter (’52) had in 1993, at the sold-out “Indeed!” dinner in Abilene to raise money for an endowed scholarship fund honoring him and his wife, Shirley.

“The tribute was so overwhelming that Hunter suggested everyone just drive on out to Elmwood Memorial Park and put him in the ground,” wrote Abilene Reporter-New s columnist Greg Jaklewicz in the next day’s edition. “What more, he reasoned, could be said on his behalf when that day comes.”

The truth is, amazement for and accolades about the irrepressible ACU icon continued another three decades, until April 29, 2023, when family and friends gathered in the Welcome Center bearing his and Shirley’s names, to memorialize the dynamo who loved his alma mater without reservation.

Hunter died Feb. 11 in Abilene at age 94. (See page 61.)

“Bob Hunter stands alone as the greatest friend-maker and ambassador in the history of Abilene Christian,” said president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91). “His spirit of hospitality and love for his alma mater are known by generations of Wildcats who have him to thank for many of the best attributes that define ACU for visitors and alumni alike.”

Whether you knew him as Bouncin’ Bob, Smilin’ Bob, State Rep. Bob or Dr. Hunter, chances are he could recall something about you and your life from your first encounter. “He remembered the names of more people and their families than anyone I’ve ever seen,” Schubert said. “Before Google, there was Bob Hunter.”

His 20 years as a Texas state representative were noteworthy for the ways he built bridges of cooperation among colleagues in Austin and consensus with constituents back home in Abilene. His legislative leadership in Austin has resulted in $2.6 billion in grants and life-changing educational opportunities for more than a million students of private and public colleges and universities in Texas.

Hunter had no peer as an idea generator, and counted 25 ACU traditions credited to him, some now lapsed but several still signature annual events such as Sing Song and the Homecoming Musical.

One of Hunter’s early responsibilities was to coordinate publicity surrounding ACU junior sprinter Bobby Morrow (’58), who won three gold medals in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne and would soon be named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, and appear on the cover of Life and Look magazines.

Morrow’s athletic exploits put Abilene Christian on the world map, and Hunter facilitated each speaking engagement, public appearance and award presentation that flooded the small college and its instant international celebrity for two years. From the pulpits of small Texas churches to the Texas Capitol, the White House and TV’s “Ed Sullivan Show,” Morrow’s public appearances were a PR professional’s dream and a challenge to coordinate on behalf of a young married college student trying to finish his degree and win more races as the “world’s fastest man.”

Hunter was up to the task, and the experience helped shape his work as one of the most respected PR and fundraising professionals in higher education. Later, he was a key figure in planning the 20-year Design for Development campaign that built Moody Coliseum, Brown Library, McGlothlin Campus Center and the Don H. Morris Center, changing the campus and face of ACU.

But he also knew better than most anyone his university’s heart and what made it tick.

“The same basic qualities that made our school good when it was small have multiplied,” he told The Optimist in a 1993 interview.

And he would have known, because he used his winsome personality, tireless energy, dogged organizational skills and non-stop creativity to help guide and foster much of the growth.

“ACU has been my life. It has been, along with church, my reason for serving,” Hunter said. “It has given me endless opportunities to know students as we recruited them and watched them grow. I can’t think of another way I would have been able to serve so many people.”

Hunter used his ever-present camera to document what he saw and experienced on behalf of the university he relentlessly promoted as its unofficial chief goodwill officer.

“He is one of the friendliest people you will ever meet, but you would be surprised that he is also one of the toughest people,” Dr. John C. Stevens (’38), ACU’s eighth president, once said. “He is known for his smile, but people know where he stands.”

In the legacy and lore of his alma mater, on the Hill he loved, is a vantage point from where Bob Hunter viewed the world. He was never the tallest person in the crowd. But from here he could stand and only see miles of promise on the horizon, and stars shining brightly overhead. 

Hunter’s Great 8

Among the 25 traditions started at ACU by Hunter, these enduring ones stand out:

• Started Sing Song in 1957 to promote ACU’s “singing college” reputation.

• Founded and coordinated the Homecoming Musical in 1959 at ACU; served as its coordinator the first six years (1959-64) with the music and theatre departments.

• Established the Parade of Flags at ACU’s Opening Assembly.

• As a state representative, coordinated the adoption of the historic Texas Tuition Equalization Grant program in the Texas Legislature to enable Texas residents to attend the 42 private colleges and universities in Texas with state financial grants.

• Started the annual alumni awards program, notably the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year (1958) and Distinguished Alumni Citation (1969).

• Created the G.C. Morlan Medal award (1972) to honor distinguished alumni from the ACU teacher education program.

• Began class reunions program, bringing graduating classes of alumni back to campus every five years.

• Started The President’s Circle program (1969) to recognize ACU’s top donors.

Hunter’s roles at ACU

1952 – Student recruiter

1956

Director of special events

1957 – Director of alumni relations

1962 – Assistant to the president, Dr. Don H. Morris

1969

1974

Vice president for public relations and development

Vice president of the university

1985 – Senior vice president

1993

Senior vice president emeritus

2005 – Special assistant to the president

Higher Ground

1) The inaugural Bob Hunter Sing Song Award was given to its namesake in February 2016.

2) Hunter graduated in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in business.

3) Hunter was ACU’s first alumni director and later led the transformative Design for Development Campaign.

4) Bob and Shirley posed in the Hunter Welcome Center lobby shortly after it opened in 2009.

5) FROM LEFT: The Hunters were joined by their children at the February 2009 dedication of the Welcome Center: Les Hunter (’86), Carole (Hunter ’81) Phillips and Kent Hunter (’78)

6) Ever the historian, Hunter used his camera to capture snapshots at countless events he attended through the years.

7) FROM LEFT: Among those present in 2022 for a surprise announcement of the Bob Hunter Sing Song stage were longtime friends Herb Butrum (’71), Tom Craig (’89) and Jeff Nelson (’79). Craig and Nelson are former Sing Song directors.

8) Hunter and the late Jeannette Scruggs Lipford (’50) were former classmates and longtime friends.

What others are saying about Hunter’s legacy

“Bob was Mr. ACU if anyone was. He was the epitome of tradition and authored many of the ones we love today at the university. He stood for everything this Christian university stood for. I admired him because he used every phase of his life in a productive way. Look at what he spanned, especially politics and multiple generations. Students, alumni, donors from every age respected him and what he stood for and dedicated his life to.”

– DR. ROYCE MONEY (’64), chancellor emeritus, ACU

“About three of them will be outstanding, one will be indispensable and the rest you could probably throw out the window. He always has fresh ideas about how to do things. He is an original thinker. He plowed new ground for Abilene Christian.”

– DR. JOHN C. STEVENS (’38), ACU’s eighth president, on the “dozen new ideas a day” Hunter was known for having, in a 1993 interview with ACU Today for a feature story, “The Mind That Roared”

“He had a heavenly way of making us all feel like we were his special friend and loved one.”

– DR. BRAD CHEVES (’84), vice president for development and external affairs, Southern Methodist University

“Bob Hunter was Abilene’s community organizer. You see, not only on this campus but in Abilene board rooms, at coffee shops, in bridge clubs, at Kiwanis meetings and most definitely at Rotary club meetings – you know he had absolute perfect attendance – Bob Hunter was known as the guy who would get it done, and he cared nothing about getting the credit.”

– SHERRI (TODD ’81) STATLER, president, Christian Homes & Family Services, and former Bob Hunter campaign manager

“No one in the House understands the dual system of higher education in our state and nation better than Bob Hunter.”

– GIB LEWIS, speaker of the Texas House of Representatives (1983-93), who appointed Hunter to the powerful House Committee on Appropriations, where he would chair the state’s budget for higher education

“The citizens of our state, especially those living in Abilene, can define public servant in two words: Bob Hunter.”

– JOHN CORNYN, Texas attorney general (1999-2002), at a 1999 appreciation luncheon in Abilene saluting Hunter for his seventh post-legislative session

“Not one to seek the limelight or to veer to partisan extremes, Hunter has been more concerned about doing things right than with garnering attention and acclaim. The accomplishments of which he is more proud – helping to bring Cisco Junior College, Texas State Technical College and Techshare campuses to Abilene, working to improve higher education for both state and private institutions – might not be the kind of achievements that grab spectacular headlines, but such projects are the very ones that enhance the daily lives and future possibilities of ordinary Texans.”

– ABILENE REPORTER-NEWS editorial in 2004, encouraging voters to send Hunter back to Austin after 18 years as the region’s state representative

“Bob Hunter would win re-election in Abilene if he was running against Moses.”

– JEFF WOLF, Abilene Reporter-News columnist, in 1994

“They think you know something they don’t know – and it worries them – or that you’re aware of what’s going on and that’s just as big a problem.”

– DR. ROBERT D. “BOB” HUNTER (’52), on fellow legislators in Austin taking his always-smiling persona one of two ways

“Bob had a way of organizing people and inspiring people to do things that meant when they went into session, they were ready, and in that 1971 session, the House of Representatives passed the Tuition Equalization Grant. It was not without controversy. There were people who had very profound doubts that the state had any business helping students attend school in the private sector because most of the schools were church-related. But Bob managed to persuade a great many people that you were giving the money to the students to do what was best for them. … He had no enemies. He was always positive in outlook. He was always helpful. He always gave good advice. … I can’t say forcefully enough that ICUT would not be what it has become if it hadn’t been for the leadership of Bob Hunter.”

– CAROL McDONALD, president of Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas (1982-2014)

1) Hunter and Texas Gov. Ann Richards

2) Hunter and Texas Gov. Rick Perry

3) Hunter served 10 consecutive terms in Austin as a Texas state representative.

4) Hunter and Texas Gov. Bill Clements

5) Hunter was always a proud participant in the annual Veterans Day Ceremony in ACU’s Moody Coliseum, standing here for recognition in 2010. He served in the Navy during the Korean Conflict.

6) Hunter received honorary doctorates from six universities, including ACU.

7) In 2006, Hunter was saluted by friends at a gala event in Dallas, Texas, to raise money for the Bob and Shirley Hunter Welcome Center at ACU. The dinner featured a musical performance by recording star Amy Grant , a longtime friend.

(See pages 61-62 for Hunter’s obituary information.)