Donor Spotlight: Kay Hathaway Jones

College of Education Donor Support Spotlight

Kay Hathaway Jones

 

New Education Building Room name:

Giles Lynch Hathaway Seminar Room

 

Named after:

Giles Lynch Hathaway, Kay Jones’ father

 

Their story:

Kay Hathaway Jones, of Athens, Georgia, graduated from Auburn University in 1962 with a bachelor’s degree in business accountancy. Her husband, Burke Jones, also graduated from Auburn in 1962 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. In 2005, Kay Jones established the Hester Wear Atchison Endowed Scholarship in Auburn’s College of Education in honor of her grandmother. The most recent naming of the Giles Lynch Hathaway Seminar Room in the new Auburn College of Education building is in honor of Kay’s father, Giles Lynch Hathaway, who attended Vanderbilt University on a football and music scholarship. Giles always made sure that his children attended Sunday School and church every Sunday, and he worked two jobs to send Kay to Auburn University. Giles passed away in 1983 and will forever be remembered as a big fan of Auburn (with season tickets to football games for many years) and for his great sense of humor and gentlemanly manners.

 

Tell us the “why” behind your decision to name a room in the College of Education’s new building:

“When (Director of Development) Molly (McNulty) showed me the design of the new Education Building, I thought the Seminar Room would be a perfect way to me​mo​ri​al​ize my father,” Hathaway said.

 

What excites you most about the College of Education’s new building?

 “The new Education Building is beautiful in itself but also has everything to inspire a student to study and learn,” Hathaway said. 

 

There’s so much to love about Auburn and its College of Education. What do you love most?

“The College of Education, when I have been to ceremonies and dinners, emotes the same Auburn Spirit that always greets me when I visit the campus,” Hathaway said.

 

What do you hope future generations will know about you/your family and the importance of the room that bears your family’s namesake?

“I hope generations to come will know that someone cared enough about their education to make a difference,” Hathaway said.