Jon M. Huntsman encourages students to find their ‘unborn masterpieces’

How do you measure a man? In pounds and feet? In dollars and decimals? In bricks and mortar? Or maybe, in the lives he has touched.

Huntsman is a name thrown around a lot at Utah State University — Huntsman Hall, the new addition to the business building, is the most recent mention — but how many students are familiar with the man behind the name?

Jon M. Huntsman Sr. was born on June 21, 1937 in Blackfoot, Idaho. After moving to Palo Alto, California, Huntsman was given a scholarship to Wharton School of Business, which he graduated from in 1959. Huntsman married Karen Haight that same year, then served two years in the Navy. He would go on to pursue a career in business, culminating in the creation of the Huntsman Corporation, which operates more than 100 facilities in over 30 countries worldwide. The Huntsman Corporation produces chemical products for consumer and industrial uses, with revenues of over $15 billion.

Huntsman wasn’t always wealthy, but he has always been charitable. Even when he was only making $320 a month in the Navy, he would take $50 out of his monthly salary to give to Navy Relief to help veterans’ families, in addition to the $32 he tithed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As his wealth grew, his desire to give grew with it. Over the course of his life, he has given away an estimated $1.5 billion and in 2011 he was among 19 individuals listed in Forbes’ “World’s Biggest Givers.”

Huntsman has shown a particular devotion to fighting cancer, a cause to which he has donated profusely. In 1993, he and his wife founded the Huntsman Cancer Institute, which has become one of the premier cancer research centers in America. The Huntsman Cancer Institute is dedicated to nothing less than finding a cure for cancer, and also boasts a cutting-edge hospital for the treatment of cancer patients.

“He’s been incredibly successful, and I think that’s because he works really hard. But it’s also because he’s driven by the idea of trying to make other people’s lives better,” said Brent Meacham, a Huntsman Scholar alumnus. “That’s why he’s been so successful. It’s not just about making money for him — it’s about making money to find ways to give it away,”

Huntsman also has a passion for higher education, to which he gives generously in both time and money.

“I believe that through higher education, we develop our leaders for tomorrow, and often our innovators for today,” he said.

In 2007, Huntsman gifted $25 million dollars to USU’s business school, which was then re-named in his honor. Huntsman said five things at Utah State made it stand out: a small student body, an ideal community, a perfect campus, a strong faculty and terrific university leadership. It was Huntsman’s lead gift that got the new Huntsman Hall started and inspired others, resulting in 70 percent of the building’s cost being covered by private donors. Huntsman hopes USU will become known for its exceptional school of business and the strong sense of ethics instilled into each of its students.

This generous gift, combined with the weight of the Huntsman name, has since propelled the business school in a new direction. Meacham, who attended the business school both before and after Huntsman’s gift, said he saw drastic changes to the program.

“I think it really helped us to find what our niche would be, which is to provide the best undergraduate experience possible,” he said.

In addition, Huntsman inspired the creation of a unique opportunity for undergraduate business students: the Huntsman Scholar Program.

“It was his example and his standard of excellence that we were inspired by and built the program around,” said Shannon Peterson, the director of the Huntsman Scholar Program.

The program focuses heavily on leadership, service, academic rigor and global vision.

This focus on global vision is drawn in part from Huntsman’s close relationship with Armenia. This relationship began in 1988 when Armenia was struck by a devastating earthquake. Ever since, he has shown devotion and warmth to the country through his personal efforts to help rebuild. Through the Armenian Scholar Program, Huntsman has funded 38 Armenian students to study at Utah State on full scholarship.

Through these efforts and more, Huntsman has inspired many students with his generosity and integrity, and brought a whole new meaning to the business school’s creed, “Dare Mighty Things.”

Drawing inspiration from “The Last Leaf,” a short story published by American writer O. Henry, Huntsman has his own unique take on the business school’s creed. He said all people have within themselves talents and abilities — a masterpiece — that doesn’t surface unless they take the time and effort to discover it. He said many people don’t do great things because they don’t work to discover those talents.

“The great masterpiece of their life has never been born because they never tested all of their abilities,” he said. “They’ve never tested their capacity to conquer challenges. They’ve never realized that they can overcome the impossible. They’ve never believed that anything and everything is possible.”

Huntsman believes that if students can test their capacity for greatness, incredible things can happen.

“When they do, they find that there is some great talent and great capacity for doing some good,” he said.

Huntsman stands as an example to many students at Utah State, reminding them that the only limits are the ones they put on themselves.

“They can really do anything that they set their heart and mind to doing,” he said.

—colehammond95@gmail.com