Ian Hunter
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Ian Hunter on giving back and looking ahead
When Ian Hunter (SOC68) first arrived at UEA in 1968, it was still a young university finding its feet.
For Ian, it was also a major turning point. He was the first in his family to go to university, and UEA’s fresh, “unstuffy” approach felt like the right place for a grammar school student who describes himself as “diffident” at the time.
We first spoke to Ian for the 2024 edition of Pioneer magazine, where he looked back on a Social Sciences degree that let him explore an incredibly varied mix of subjects – from philosophy and economics to sociology and economic history. Just as importantly, he remembers a university culture that trusted students to think for themselves, a catalyst for the curiosity and confidence he’s carried ever since.
More recently, we sat down with Ian again to catch up on what still stays with him from those years, and why he’s chosen to support UEA through legacy giving.
Finding confidence, learning balance
UEA wasn’t only lectures and reading lists. Ian threw himself into university life, including becoming joint editor of the student magazine, CHIPS. It was a role he loved, but it also came with a hard-won lesson: the scale of the commitment began to interfere with his studies, and he eventually stepped down. Looking back, he sees that moment as formative - teaching him to recognise limits and find balance between social life, extracurricular commitments, and academic responsibilities. It’s a lesson that followed him into his professional life in education, shaping how he thinks about opportunity, confidence, and the quiet determination it takes to thrive.
Why he gives back to UEA
Ian’s motivation for supporting UEA is rooted in gratitude and fairness. He’s candid about the material difference his generation experienced in higher education: student grants meant the opportunity to study wasn’t automatically paired with decades of debt. In our more recent conversation, he spoke about how important it is that students can focus on learning, not just making ends meet, and for vital university research to be sustained with stable funding.
He also speaks plainly about his personal circumstances. Without immediate family, he sees leaving a legacy gift as a practical, purposeful way to give back and support future generations. And at heart, it comes back to the kind of student he was: someone determined to do well, even if confidence didn’t always come easily at first. He wants today’s students, especially those facing financial pressure, to have the chance to flourish.
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A gift that helps UEA plan ahead
Ian has chosen to leave a gift to UEA in his will because it’s a way of making support count long into the future.
Legacy gifts help the University plan with confidence. They create long-term security that can strengthen student support, including hardship funding, and sustain the work that makes UEA distinctive, from research that tackles urgent challenges to the learning environment students depend on.
Ian also highlights something many people don’t realise. Leaving a gift to a charity in your will can have tax advantages, potentially reducing the inheritance tax due on an estate above the threshold. (As always, it’s worth seeking independent advice.)
If UEA helped shape your life, you can help shape what comes next.
A gift in your will, whatever its size, can create lasting impact for students and research that benefits society for generations.
Learn more about leaving a legacy gift on our website.
To start a confidential conversation:
Contact the Development, Alumni and Campaigns Office