Hillsdale College Grants Honorary Degrees at Commencement Ceremony 2025
Richard E. and Janet L. Hunter, Charles P. Koch and Anne E. Koch, and James Herbert McGraw received honorary degrees in public service.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College awarded honorary Doctor of Public Service degrees to Richard E. and Janet L. Hunter, Charles P. Koch and Anne E. Koch, and James Herbert McGraw at its 173rd annual Commencement ceremony on May 10. Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn conferred the degrees.
Richard and Janet Hunter became friends of Hillsdale College through Dick’s parents, who established the Edwin J. and Frances Hunter Endowed Replacement Grant in 1991. They were impressed with Hillsdale’s rigorous academics and firm commitment to first principles. Eager to support the College, the Hunters established the Richard E. and Jan Hunter Scholarship for International Students in 1997. He joined the College’s Board of Trustees in 2013. Dick and Jan both earned bachelor’s degrees from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, where he previously served on its Board of Trustees, and Dick earned a master’s degree at Columbia University. He began his career in 1976 at Bell Telephone Laboratories, working on the Apollo and Safeguard ABM programs. He managed and became owner of an agricultural company in Greeley, Colorado. In 1983, Dick joined the family business, Hunter Industries, which was started by his father and brother and became a leading manufacturer of landscape irrigation and outdoor lighting products. He served as its president and CEO from 1994 until 2013, when he retired and passed leadership of the business to his son Gregory. The College was saddened to learn of Jan’s passing in April, and Dick accepted Jan’s degree on her behalf.
A graduate of the Cincinnati School of Commercial Art, Charles “Chuck” Koch is the founder of the exhibit and trade show company ADEX International, Inc. A graduate of Boston College, Anne Fehring Koch earned her CPA certification and worked in several industries, eventually becoming president of the Farm & Ranch Division of the Cincinnati-based Great American Insurance Company. In 1998, Chuck sold his company to his employees, Anne retired, and together they moved into agriculture. They own and operate the 750-acre Oak Lane Farm in Ocala, Florida, where—in addition to their horse, cattle, and hay business—they have hosted Olympic equestrian teams in training. The Kochs have served on boards of directors of numerous community and charitable organizations, including the College of Central Florida Foundation, Munroe Hospital in Ocala, the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, Dance Alive National Ballet, the Forgotten Coast Cultural Coalition, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Chuck and Anne have formed a close association with Hillsdale College over the decades and built friendships with its students, faculty, and staff. In particular, the Kochs have helped support Hillsdale’s Art Department as well as its K–12 classical education initiatives. They are especially proud of Atlanta Classical Academy, a Hillsdale Member School, where Chuck’s daughter has taught and where his grandsons attended.
James McGraw began his career as a teacher in upstate New York, where he sold periodical advertisements to bolster his income. His success enabled him to buy the periodical and several others. In 1889, he formed McGraw Publishing as a holding company for his periodicals and soon expanded into book publication. In 1909, McGraw Publishing merged with Hill Publishing Company to become McGraw–Hill Publishing. James served as president from 1917 until 1928, and his commitment to editorial excellence made the company a leader in the publishing world. It was frequently remarked among his associates and employees that he had a “remarkably high standard of dissatisfaction.” It was also said of him: “He goes forward where others fear to tread, and having started, he knows not when to quit.” While he enjoyed great success in business, education was his passion. He often commented that the years he spent teaching were the greatest of his life. His great-grandson Jackson McBroom has stewarded his great-grandfather’s legacy, including a provision for two endowed faculty chairs at Hillsdale College: the Victor Davis Hanson Chair in Classical History and Western Civilization and the Walter Williams Chair in Free Market Economics. Jackson accepted the degree on behalf of his great-grandfather.
Awardees join the ranks of an esteemed list of honorary degree recipients, including poet Will Carleton (1876), cryptanalyst Elizebeth Smith Friedman (1939), entrepreneur Malcolm Forbes (1984), novelist Mark Helprin (2011), philosopher Sir Roger Scruton (2012), and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (2017).