James T. "Jim" Stephens (born April 14, 1939) is an American, businessman and philanthropist from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Early life

James T. Stephens was born on April 14, 1939, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. His father, Elton Bryson Stephens, Sr., founded EBSCO Industries in 1944.America's Richest Families: Stephens family
''Forbes''Connor Sheets

''The Birmingham News'', March 23, 2015Michael Tomberlin

''The Birmingham News'', July 10, 2014 His mother, Alys Robinson, died in 1996. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he received a bachelor's degree in history in 1961. He received an MBA from the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

in 1964.

Career

Stephens served as a lieutenant in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He joined the family business, EBSCO Industries, where he served as President from 1970 to 2005. He served as its chairman from 2002 to 2017. He was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 2008 and the

Alabama Academy of Honor The Alabama Academy of Honor recognizes one hundred living Alabamians for outstanding accomplishments and services to Alabama and the United States. . By act of the Alabama Legislature, only one hundred living people may be members at any time. Up ...

in 2012.

Philanthropy

Stephens previously served as the chairman of the boards of trustees of the Highlands School in Mountain Brook, Alabama, the

Altamont School The Altamont School, located in Birmingham, Alabama atop Red Mountain, is a college preparatory day school with coeducational enrollment of grades 5– 12. Most of the students live in Birmingham and the surrounding communities. History Altamo ...

, and Birmingham-Southern College. Additionally, he served as the chairman of the Greater Alabama Council of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

. He donated US$2 million to the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

of Central Alabama. He has endowed scholarships at

Jefferson State Community College Jefferson State Community College (informally Jeff State) is a public community college with multiple campuses in Alabama, including the Jefferson Campus in northeastern Birmingham, Alabama (eastern Jefferson County), the Shelby-Hoover Campus in ...

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. It was one ...

, and Birmingham-Southern College. He has also made charitable contributions to the God's Outreach Center in

Harpersville, Alabama Harpersville is a town in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. According to the 1950 U.S. Census, it formally incorporated in 1943. At the 2020 census the population was 1,614, compared to 1,637 in 2010 and 1,620 in 2000. It is located southeas ...

as well as

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

and

Doctors Without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

. With his father, Stephens donated US$2.5 million to the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

. They also donated US$15 million for the construction of the Elton B. Stephens Science Center on the campus of

Birmingham–Southern College Birmingham–Southern College (BSC) was a private liberal arts college in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1856, the college was affiliated with the United Methodist Church and was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SA ...

Personal life

He is married to Julie Stephens. They have four children, Bryson, Trent, Bart, and Alys.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, James T. Living people 1939 births People from Mountain Brook, Alabama Yale University alumni Harvard Business School alumni United States Army officers Businesspeople from Birmingham, Alabama Philanthropists from Alabama Stephens family American billionaires