While most high school athletes set their sights on a particular college long before spring of their senior year, Hampden-Sydney Trustee Keith Lewis ’78 didn’t visit Hampden-Sydney until late in the recruiting process.
“I was injured quite a bit during my high school senior-year football season, so my original plan was to walk on at a Division I college to see if I could potentially play football at that level. Once I visited Hampden-Sydney, however, I knew it was where I wanted to be,” Lewis says.
Lewis grew up in Danville, Virginia, home to legendary Hampden-Sydney football and baseball coach Stokeley Fulton. Lewis recalls, “I was fortunate to play football all four years and baseball for one year for Coach Fulton at Hampden-Sydney. He was truly a man for all seasons.”
It was clear to Lewis that he wanted to play football, but his academic path at Hampden-Sydney was less clear. “That’s the beauty of a liberal arts education,” he says. "I was fortunate to have the opportunity to gain a relatively well-informed perspective along the way by not being put into a position where I had to declare a major too early. Ultimately, my choice to major in economics and pursue a business career proved to be a high-conviction decision.”
Lewis credits the economics department, particularly Dr. Spring and Dr. Masaoki, for helping shape the direction of his career path. “My first job after graduating was with Travelers Insurance Company,” he says. “I went through a 21-month management training program, and I was fortunate to also have the opportunity to get my MBA from University of Richmond while I was working for Travelers.”
After five years with Travelers, Lewis spent the next three years with Tenneco Financial and then the balance of his career with T. Rowe Price Group in Baltimore. After 32 years with T. Rowe Price he retired in 2019, and he and his wife, Kim, now live in Richmond.
As a three-term board member (2009-2013 and 2019-current), Lewis understands the crucial role that a strong endowment and the ability to provide scholarships will play in Hampden-Sydney’s future to continue producing good men and good citizens.
Having supported Hampden-Sydney’s annual fund and other campaigns since he graduated, the Lewises have significantly expanded their support by creating the Mr. and Mrs. James A. Lewis Endowed Scholarship, named for his parents.
“My mother and father made financial sacrifices for me to attend Hampden-Sydney. Since I committed late in the recruiting cycle, the scholarship pool was running dry. My parents were nevertheless supportive of my attending Hampden-Sydney, but the net result was they invested more in my college education than originally intended” shares Lewis. “This scholarship is our way of honoring them.
“Given the demographic enrollment cliff that all colleges, particularly private liberal arts colleges, are facing with a smaller cohort of potential applicants graduating from high school, we now find ourselves in an environment where the competition among colleges for qualified applicants is especially intense. Therefore, the need for a substantial endowment to provide scholarships to qualified applicants for whom the cost of a Hampden-Sydney education may otherwise be prohibitive has never been more important.
“We remain convinced that Hampden-Sydney provides its students with a uniquely exceptional education and an overall set of experiences that positions them for success. Through expanded financial support of the College’s endowment, we believe the day could come when any qualified applicant can attend Hampden-Sydney College regardless of their family’s financial means.”
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