Grant Hill And Mother, Janet, Give $100,000 To Duke For New Calvin Hill Scholarship

Jet, Dec 28, 1998

NBA star Grant Hill and his mother, Janet Hill, will donate $100,000 to the Duke University Divinity School to help start a scholarship fund to honor Grant's father, Calvin Hill.

The elder Hill, a former NFL star, is a member of the Divinity School's Board of Visitors.

"Many people tightly admire and respect Calvin for his numerous contributions to the sports world and for his civic leadership," said Divinity School Dean L. Gregory Jones. He is also a committed Christian, and Duke Divinity School has been blessed to have Calvin serve on our Board of Visitors and our Campaign Committee. He is a person of remarkable insight, exemplary character and passionate commitment. It is a great privilege for us to honor him in a way that will extend his influence and legacy to generations of students to come."

Jones announced plans for the Calvin Hill Scholarship Endowment Fund during The Divinity Seminar, a weekend event for friends of the Divinity School, hosted by Janet and Calvin Hill. A matching grant was made by the Duke Endowment in Charlotte, NC, to bring the total of the Fund to $200,000.

Calvin Hill, the first Dallas Cowboy to rush for 1,000 in a season, planned to be a minister before being drafted by the NFL. The Yale graduate studied at Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology in Dallas while he played with the Cowboys from 1969-1975. During his stellar NFL career, Hill also played for the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Browns. He retired in 1991. Currently, he is a consultant to the Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones.

His wife, Janet Hill, is vice president of Alexander & Associates, a consulting firm based in Washington, D.C.

Grant Hill, star forward for the Detroit Pistons, graduated from Duke University in 1994. He helped lead the basketball team to two NCAA championships, in 1991 and 1992.