Hodges donates $1 million for UNCG’s archives
The Hodges family has been a great supporter of UNCG’s University Libraries for many decades. Now, Luther Hodges Jr. further supports UNCG’s Light the Way campaign with a new gift of $750,000, bringing his total giving in this campaign to $1 million.
University Libraries will use this gift to create an archival researcher room as well as to support special collections residents, graduate student fellows, and interns within the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA).
The special collections and archives are named for Mr. Hodges’ mother, a First Lady of North Carolina and an alumna. “She was here during the World War I years,” recounts Kathelene Smith, Interim Head of SCUA. Martha was one of the campus’ Farmerettes, a student group that grew vegetables to support the war effort.
Martha Blakeney Hodges was also an educator and longstanding booster of Jackson Library, making this gift a fitting addition to her legacy. “It seems that everyone knew my father,” Hodges said, referring to the late North Carolina governor, Luther Hodges, Sr. “My mother – who graduated in 1918 – was equally remarkable. She, as well as one of her sisters, became principals after graduating from this wonderful campus. In fact, she was leading Leaksville High School when she met my father.”
Throughout her life, Martha Blakeney Hodges balanced public life and private life. As first lady, she fulfilled many obligations of public service. At the same time, she formed the backbone of her family, Hodges explains. “Whatever good taste my father and I had came from her,” he said, with a smile.
“Luther has been a tremendous supporter of our university,” said Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. “Luther was compelled to give during the Light the Way campaign so that he could have an impact on the library and memorialize his mother in a deeper way.”
The collections and archives that bear Martha Blakeney Hodges’ name “not only serve as shepherds of University history, they promote scholarship for our students and researchers from throughout the region and well beyond,” explained University Libraries Interim Dean Michael Crumpton.
The Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives are currently celebrating their 50th anniversary. This area occupies a special place on campus. It collects, preserves, organizes, and makes rare material accessible not only to students and alumni, but also to those beyond the campus community. “We are the keeper of the University’s history,” said Smith.
And the gift serves a larger goal, Crumpton notes. “As an educational institution, we need to find the right ways to preserve history and share that history to future students,” he said. “From student classes to alumni groups to scholars from around the world using the archives, this beautiful history will continue to speak to future generations thanks to the generosity of donors like Luther Hodges Jr.”
The gift is part of UNCG’s Light the Way: The Campaign for Earned Achievement. This comprehensive fundraising campaign seeks to raise $200 million to increase access, elevate academic excellence, and enhance the tremendous impact of UNCG’s programs. Visit lighttheway.uncg.edu for additional information.
Photograph of Luther Hodges Jr. by Bert VanderVeen.