Hills Pledge $200,000 to Raise the Bar for Every Student

Trustee John R. Hill ’76 and Lesley W. Hill have pledged $200,000 to strengthen the Love School of Business’s Center for Financial Literacy.

The new commitment joins the John R. Hill ’76 and Lesley W. Hill Endowed Fund for Engaged Learning in Business and earlier support for scholarships, athletics, classrooms and The Inn at Elon, in advancing Elon University’s strategic priorities.

John Hill founded Pinnacle Advisory Group, a private wealth management firm, with his business partners in 1993 after an early corporate career, while Lesley Hill built her expertise in banking. Those paths revealed a powerful insight: people flourish when they understand how to manage money.
“I have spent my career helping families better understand and become more aware of all of the personal financial issues that are absolutely critical for their future success to achieve their goals, their dreams, their hopes,” Hill said.

The Hills want every Elon graduate to share that confidence. “Anything we can do to build a program that supports students in their understanding of finance is a home run,” Hill said. He hopes the gift will “raise the bar so students leave Elon with a strong foundation in personal finance and do not have to wrestle with things they do not understand.”

The Hills’ generous gift will directly impact the Love School of Business and community:

• Educate: Peer mentors, workshops and digital resources will deliver practical lessons on budgeting, credit and investing, including planned personal-finance modules for Elon 1010.
• Engage: Students, faculty and alumni will extend programming to local schools and community partners through Junior Achievement and Habitat for Humanity.
• Empower: A new John Hill Award for Advancing Financial Literacy will recognize student-created content that scales financial education across campus.