Roger Harold Hull (born June 18, 1942) is the founder, chairman, and president of the Help Yourself Win Foundation.
During his nine years at Beloit, the College constructed or renovated 10 buildings (where he insisted on a principle of fiscal conservatism that permitted construction to begin only after funds for both the project and an endowment to maintain the finished building were obtained); grew the endowment by 500%; increased the size of the student body and faculty; introduced the concept of "moral obligation" scholarships;[7] had, at 55%, one of the highest percentages nationally of alumni who contributed to the College; instituted intensive language programs in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian; established the principle that any student who was admitted would have the financial ability to attend the College; and created Help Yourself, a program to bring at-risk students, beginning in third grade, to the College for an after-school program that served as the basis for the Help Yourself Foundation he established in 2005.
At Union, he helped raise $250 million; oversaw the construction or renovation of 24 buildings, including the iconic Nott Memorial (again, beginning a project only after funds for construction and a maintenance endowment had been pledged); tripled the College's endowment; created an undergraduate research symposium in which 15% of students presented original research; promoted student volunteer efforts in Schenectady, with 60% participation; had the largest investment in a college's "home town" as a percentage of assets ($26 million) of any college in America, which included the acquisition and renovation of 50 properties and the turning of an industrial brownfield into a greenfield; created a business incubator; established a program in Converging Technologies that brought together engineering and the liberal arts; and formed the Minerva House System, a unique learning/living environment for all faculty and students.
[11] In 2011, Hull created the Alliance Party, a combination of Democrats, Republicans, and independent voters, in an effort to combat one-party rule in Schenectady.
[5] A consulting firm, which charges only for expenses, Avon Associates provides board chairmen of colleges and universities with a forensic analysis during presidential transitions and ongoing, "no-ax-to-grind" advice to presidents of financially challenged institutions.
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