Leading the Way
After more than 50 years of public service, Governor Jim Hunt’s leadership continues to inspire our work. His unwavering belief that education is the cornerstone of opportunity guides everything we do.
After more than 50 years of public service, Governor Jim Hunt’s leadership continues to inspire our work. His unwavering belief that education is the cornerstone of opportunity guides everything we do.
The Hunt Institute is proud to announce the Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. Leadership Award, presented annually beginning in 2026. This award honors senior-level state leaders or state agencies making an exceptional impact on educations and embodies Governor Hunt’s belief that every child deserves a strong start and a high-quality public education.
Through this award, we hope to spotlight leaders who embody Governor Hunt’s belief that every child deserves a strong start—and who lead with innovation, collaboration, and a bipartisan commitment to progress. The Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. Leadership Award is administered by The Hunt Institute Board of Directors. This esteemed bipartisan collective group will review all nominations and will select the recipient of the award.
Nominations are now open through March 31, 2026. Submit a nomination to recognize leaders driving meaningful, lasting progress in education.
The Hunt Institute brings together people and resources that help build and nurture visionary leadership and mobilize strategic action for greater educational outcomes and student success.
Programs offered by The Hunt Institute focus on informing and inspiring elected officials and key policymakers to make decisions that result in improving the lives of all children through quality education.
The Hunt Institute creates meaningful platforms to engage policymakers. We are unapologetic about the importance of educational access, quality, and opportunity. These are at the core of our work.
The Hunt Institute is building a bench of informed policymakers, nurturing political leadership, and successfully engaging state policymakers on the full continuum of education policy issues.
Equity is the lens through which we view all of our work, and we will be satisfied with nothing less than a quality education for every child, preparing them for citizenship, college, and the workforce. To that end, we are building on a solid nonpartisan foundation to reach more governors, legislators, and other education leaders.
The Hunt Institute has 20 years in the education policy space.
The Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellows network consists of over 100 senior state-level leaders from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
We’ve scaled our State Legislators Retreat model across five states, engaging over 1,000 legislators.
We provide technical assistance to 27 Early Childhood State Teams.
