William J. Hume, known as Jerry Hume, is an American businessman and conservative donor.Heritage Foundation Board of Trustees
/ref>DonorsTrust
/ref>Voucher Backer Confirmed by Senate
'' The Los Angeles Times'', March 31, 1995

Early life and education

Hume was born to

Jaquelin H. Hume Jaquelin Holliday "Jack" Hume (1905–1991) was an American businessman and conservative philanthropist. He co-founded Basic American Foods, the world's largest producer of dried onion and garlic, and later dried potatoes, for instant mashed po ...

, the co-founder of

Basic American Foods Basic American Foods is an American food corporation.

, the world's largest supplier of dried potato and bean products, and

Caroline Howard Hume Caroline Howard Hume (a.k.a. Betty Hume) (1909–2008) was an American philanthropist and art collector from California. Hume's philanthropy extended to non-profit organizations in the areas of music, the outdoors, and modern art. She was appointe ...

, a philanthropist.Bruce Lambert
Jaquelin Hume, 86, Dried Fruit Producer and Philanthropist
'' The New York Times'', October 04, 1991Meredith May
Caroline Howard Hume, S.F. philanthropist, dies
'' San Francisco Gate'', October 30, 2008 He has a brother,

George H. Hume George H. Hume is an American heir, businessman and philanthropist. He serves as president and chief executive officer of Basic American Foods, the world's largest producer of dried onion, garlic and potato products. He served as president of the S ...

, and two sisters, Patricia Highberg and Carol Tolan. He graduated from Yale College in 1961.

Career

He serves as chairman of his family business, Basic American Foods.

Philanthropy

He has been described by '' The Los Angeles Times'' as a "major Republican donor." In 1972, he helped found

San Francisco University High School San Francisco University High School is a private college preparatory high school located in San Francisco, California. The school was opened in 1975. Facilities and campus The school is made up of four buildings, commonly referred to as Upper, ...

, which his children attended.'An Evening In Honor of Jerry Hume', Pacific Research Institute, June 30, 2003 In the late 1970s, he joined the education taskforce of the California Business Roundtable. He was also a board member of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and one of his reports paved the way for No Child Left Behind. In the early 1990s, he donated US$100,000 for school vouchers in Colorado and Oregon. By 1995, he was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson to serve on the California State Board of Education, where he supported school choice. He was also Chairman of the California Academy of Sciences and he served on the Boards of Trustees of the California Council on Economic Education and Teach For America. In 1996, he donated US$200,000 to support Ward Connerly's California Proposition 209, which amended the state constitution to prohibit state government institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity, specifically in the areas of public employment, public contracting or public education.Lee Cokorinos
The Big Money Behind Ward Connerly
Equal Justice Society He is chairman of the Foundation for Teaching Economics. He sits on the Boards of Trustees of The Heritage Foundation, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, the Hoover Institution at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

The Foundation for Educational Choice EdChoice, formerly the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, is an American education reform organization headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was founded in 1996 by economist spouses Milton and Rose D. Friedman. The organization's mis ...

, the

Center for Education Reform The Center for Education Reform is an education reform organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1993, CER advocates for school choice. Legislation The Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act (H.R. 10; 113th ...

, and

Donors Trust Donors Trust is an American nonprofit donor-advised fund. It was founded in 1999 with the goal of "safeguarding the intent of libertarian and conservative donors". As a donor advised fund, Donors Trust is not legally required to disclose the id ...

. He has also donated to the Jaqueline Hume Foundation, named for his late uncle, where he serves as Second Vice President and Treasurer. In 2008, he received the first Sir

Anthony Fisher Anthony Colin Fisher (born 10 March 1960) is an Australian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and a friar of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Since 12 November 2014, he has been the ninth Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. He served as the ...

Freedom Award from the

Pacific Research Institute The Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (PRI) is a California-based free-market think tank which promotes "the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility" through policies that emphasize a free economy, private initiat ...

.William Hume to Receive Sir Anthony Fisher Freedom Award

Atlas Economic Research Foundation Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups ...

, November 12th, 2008

Personal life

His wife is from Chile, and they have adult children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hume, William J. Living people American businesspeople American philanthropists California Republicans Hoover Institution people Moravian University alumni The Heritage Foundation Yale College alumni Year of birth missing (living people)