A Career Coming to an End

By Blake Hinds

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.–Every day Dr. Hunt walks into a classroom with a smile on her face. In 1969, before title IX existed, she was a pure two-sport athlete.  Razorback fans watched her play tennis and basketball.

“I think you could say we girls truly played for the love of the sport, no question about it.  There were no scholarships, there was no hype,” Hunt said. She’s been to school all over the SEC, earning her PHD from the University of Georgia.

“Georgia took a chance on a 22 year old that had gone straight through school from the first grade through graduate school and I began in 1974 working on my doctorate at the University of Georgia,” Hunt said. Then she took her first job at the University of Kentucky in 1977.

“It was a great 13 years that I spent at University of Kentucky, I was able to move up through the ranks from assistant to associate professor.  As soon as I was promoted to associate professor and tenure, I was ask to take on the role of director of graduate studies,” Hunt said. She says she never thought she’d have the opportunity to serve as department head at the UA HPER center, but the dream job came along. After talking with her husband, she made the life-changing move.

“I mentioned it to David and he was wonderful he said Sharon this isn’t Alaska this is Arkansas this is home absolutely you’ve got to look into this,” Hunt said. Almost three decades later, it looks like she made the right decision.