James B. Hunt Jr. was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He grew up on a farm in Wilson County, where he and his wife Carolyn now raise beef cattle. He received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education in 1959 and a master’s in agricultural economics in 1962 from North Carolina State University. He earned a law degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Law in 1964.

The nation’s first “education governor,” Jim Hunt is a nationally recognized leader in education, and he has been at the forefront of state and national education reform. Smart Start, his nationally recognized early childhood initiative, helped North Carolina children get better childcare, immunizations, and family services. Smart Start, has been emulated by states across the nation and received the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award from the Ford Foundation and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.