Remembering Dr. Stephen Hunt

A member of the Emory & Henry College Board of Trustees who served for 30 years in key federal government positions in support of international higher education died October 17 in Asheville, N.C.

Graveside services for Dr. Stephen Hunt, a resident of Asheville, were held Thursday, October 27,in the Monte Vista Cemetery in Johnson City, Tenn. A memorial service was held that evening in the Calliopean Room of Byars Hall on the campus of Emory & Henry College.

Hunt, a 1971 graduate of Emory & Henry, was a member of the College’s Board of Trustees and a member of the Emory & Henry Patrick Henry Society, which represents the institution’s leading financial supporters. The son of former Emory & Henry President Bishop Earl Hunt, Steve Hunt also served for one semester as a Blackwell Lecturer on the topic of negotiations.

During his career, Hunt served in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) in the U.S. Department of Education. While there, he created and led the U.S. Center for Education Information under the auspices of UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the European Union. He also led in the establishment of the U.S. Network for Education Information (USNEI).

During his years with OERI, Hunt served as an advisor and resource person on foreign and domestic postsecondary education. He became the government’s national expert on foreign educational systems and postsecondary qualifications and served as a negotiator with foreign ministers in matters related to global education. The European Network of Education Centers (ENIC), a 56-country association of national education information centers such as USNEI, twice elected Hunt as vice president and twice as ENIC president.

Hunt received a master of arts degree in international studies from American University, a master of library science degree and a graduate certificate in information resources management for the federal government from Syracuse University, and a doctoral degree in higher education and political science from the University of Virginia.

Dr. Stephen Hunt (right) and wife Edeltraut Gilgan-Hunt (left)In addition to his wife, Edeltraut Gilgan-Hunt of Asheville, N.C., Hunt is survived by the following family members who reside in Germany: brother-in-law Hans-Guenther Gilgan, sister-in-law Dorle Gilgan, nephew Jan Gilgan and family, niece Sandra Gilgan, cousin Saskia Kugler and family, cousins Heriberto and Irmgard Niedorff, and cousin Paul Niedorff. He is also survived by the following relatives who reside in Argentina: the families of nephews Leo Gittlein, Marcello Gittlein and Anibal Gittlein and niece Barbara Gittlein. In the United States, he is survived by cousin Keith Helton of Johnson City and cousin Mary Beth Barker and family of Puquoson, Va.