Babin joins UA Little Rock Foundation Fund Board
February 18-24, 2019
By Caitlin Smith
The UA Little Rock Foundation Fund Board of Directors recently announced its new board members, and among them is owner and founder of Telconnections, Inc., Hunter Babin. Babin did most of his master’s level work at UA Little Rock; and now to be a part of the school’s alumni and development team, he is excited. “I’m very appreciative of the invitation and look very much forward to doing anything I can to help out,” he said.
This Florida born, Monticello-raised Arkansan, knew from the beginning that he wanted to work in public administration. “It seemed like a worthy thing to do. My parents were in public service. They set a model which kind of helped direct me.” That direction led him to UA Fayetteville to get his bachelor’s in public administration.
Babin furthered his education by being one of the first students enrolled in the public administration master’s program between UA Fayetteville and UA Little Rock. “They joined forces to create a program that was conducted 50 percent by UALR professors and 50 percent by UA Fayetteville professors. But all the course work was taken here at UA Little Rock,” he said.
Babin started his career with the Arkansas Louisiana Gas Company. He explained how although it was a great organization, he was more interested in the technical side of things. “One of my first assignments at Ark Lou Gas was to help convert their customer service paper records to computer records. And that’s what really led me down the path of a technology career,” said Babin.
After five years with the gas company, Babin switched gears and started working for various technology companies until 2003 when he decided to set up his own consulting firm.
The difficulties of setting up his own business was no stranger. “There are legal and regulatory challenges that you have to clear just to establish the corporation. I went through a number of iterations or a number of phases where I tried to get that right,” said Babin.
Telconnections, Inc. provided consulting services to small and medium businesses. “I would go in and help them design their telecom systems or negotiate their contracts with their various providers, with the goal of either a.) saving the customer’s money or b.) helping improve their services they were getting or in some cases both,” said Babin.
In recent years, the company has evolved to working mainly with health care facilities. “They seem to have a larger scope and scale that matches the type of services that I would offer,” said Babin.
Aside from Babin’s company, his alumni status at the UA Little Rock didn’t go unnoticed. A year ago, he received a phone call from the Senior Director of Development, Kristi Smith, to discuss the possibility of joining the Foundation Fund Board.
Babin’s recollections of his major professor and chief advisor, Dr. Robert Johnston, inspired him to accept the position. “This became full circle because of Dr. Johnston. I had the opportunity to spend time with a very accomplished individual. And let me add, he had very high expectations of his students. He was never satisfied with anything except excellence,” he said.
UA Little Rock Foundation Fund Board members are ambassadors of goodwill to the school and community of Little Rock. They meet four times out of the year to oversee the activities of the foundation fund. They are expected to make an annual contribution, participate in an annual fundraising campaign, and be involved with matters related to public higher education.
Babin appreciates the leadership and hard work that UA Little Rock continues to produce. “I think UA Little Rock is perfectly positioned to be a huge asset to this city and to the state and region,” he said.
Rest assured, UA Little Rock is in great hands when it comes to Hunter Babin.
Source: UA Little Rock Communications
