LifeWorks Learning Partnership

A generous gift to Mars Hill College by General Hugh Hester led to the endowment of the Hester Center for Peace and Justice in 1987. General Hester served under Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific theater during World War II. The dropping of the atomic bomb had a profound effect on General Hester, and he soon left the life of the military to become an activist for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. He had a special desire for young people to learn alternatives to violence when confronted by conflicts at home and around the world. General Hester’s gift has impacted thousands of students who have participated in peacemaking programs throughout the years.

Photo courtesy of D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville