Donors open doors to support KSU vision

KENNESAW, Ga. | Aug 3, 2020

Barry Hyman is a tireless advocate for the students of Kennesaw State University and KSU Journey Honors College. He has taken the time to understand the financial challenges that KSU students face and has made it his mission to support students and engage the larger Atlanta community in the effort to raise scholarship funds for students. Over the course of the last decade, Hyman has had an enormous impact leading by example.

Currently in his third term as a trustee of the KSU Foundation, Hyman became a member of the advisory council for KSU Journey Honors College in 2018. Last year, he and his wife, Sylvia donated $100,000 to endow scholarships for Honors students and help provide recognition celebrations for KSU Journey Honors College graduates. Through a matching opportunity founded by Rosemary and John Brown, the Hymans' $100,000 gift was matched at 100 percent by the Browns and 50 percent by the KSU Foundation, for a total endowment of $250,000.

“As an advisory council member and donor to the college, Barry has created value for Honors students and KSU Journey Honors College in a way that transcends expectations. We are grateful for the Hyman family’s support,” said Dean Rita Bailey.

In addition to the Honors College, Barry and Sylvia Hyman have strategically advocated for the University, which has helped KSU secure several significant gifts, including Fifth Third Bank’s sponsorship of KSU athletics, and Michael and Andrea Leven’s donation to Coles College of Business.

The Hymans also have endowed scholarships in the College of the Arts and have supported KSU’s education-abroad programs in Montepulciano, Italy. The Barry and Sylvia Hyman Endowed International Scholarship has supported student international education programsparticularly through the Honors Great Books cohort, one of the most elite and competitive academic enrichment programs on campus, which provides opportunities for 25 Honors students to study classic literature in Italy.

Brandon Vines, who graduated from KSU in 2018, said that his semester in Montepulciano in the Great Books program would not have been possible without the Hymans’ support. Now a law student at Columbia University in New York, he credits his experiences with the Honors College for his transformation from computer science major to future lawyer.

“The Honors Great Books cohort dramatically altered that course of my life,” Vines said. “My experiences in the Honors College helped me reach goals beyond what I had even imagined. It truly shaped my future.”

Barry Hyman, a native of High Point, North Carolina, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He met Sylvia at their synagogue in High Point, where she studied elementary education at High Point University. After college, he accepted a position with Arthur Andersen in Atlanta and has remained in the area for nearly 50 years. While working as a CPA at Arthur Andersen by day, Hyman earned a law degree at Emory University at night. He later transitioned into insurance and financial services by opening his own company, Veracor, LLC.

With his company thriving and his steadfast desire to lend a hand, Hyman remains extremely active in the Atlanta community and with the University. He said he is happy to make the necessary connections and introductions to help KSU achieve success as well.

“I view it as an opportunity where I can make a difference on a grand scale,” he said. “Kennesaw State has so much to offer, and this is a chance to continue to help it become an even greater institution.”

Donors open doors to support KSU vision

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