Shell (BSEd ’66) and Wyck (BBA ’62, LLB ’64) Knox’s family connection to the University of Georgia is nearly 100 years old. From Lamartine Hardman Jr.’s graduation in 1930 to his great-grandchildren’s educational pursuits today, the university has been made better thanks to these devoted Bulldogs.

Although the family’s connection to Georgia higher education goes back to the 1920s — Gov. L.G. Hardman, Lamartine’s father, established a higher education commission in 1929 that would form the University System of Georgia Board of Regents two years later — their UGA story begins in the 1930s, when no fewer than five individuals from the Knox and Hardman families graduated from the university. But their bond with Athens solidified in the 1960s, when nine more Knoxes and Hardmans got UGA diplomas — two of whom, Shell and Wyck, would unite the families in 1967.

After graduating from UGA, Wyck began an exceptional career in law that culminated with him receiving the School of Law’s Distinguished Service Scroll Award in 2014, the school’s highest award. Shell devoted her time to education, the arts, historic preservation and conservation. In the 1980s, she became one of the first women to serve on the UGA Foundation Board of Trustees, a distinction she would one-up when she became the first woman Chair of the board in 1994. In recognition of her service and achievements, Shell received the UGA Alumni Merit Award in 2000.

Servant leadership like this is the standard for the Knox family. Shell and Wyck have served on a litany of boards, committees and volunteer organizations, including the Law School Board of Visitors, the Metropolitan Atlanta Olympic Games Authority, the UGA Athletics Board of Directors, the Georgia Museum of Art Board of Advisors, the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame Board of Judges and the Georgia Historical Society Board of Curators. Notably, Wyck served as a founding Director and Chairman for the Georgia Lottery Corporation Board of Directors, helping to launch the lottery and the HOPE Scholarship it funded, which has provided scholarship support to millions of Georgia students.

Their children share this dedication to service: Wyck Knox III is a nationally recognized leader in the design of net-zero energy schools; Shell Knox Berry is President and CEO of the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area; Hardman Knox (BBA ’98) is an emeritus member and previous Chair of the Terry College of Business Alumni Board and will begin the role of Advisory Trustee for the UGA Foundation on July 1; and Davis Knox (BBA ’98), who won the Terry College’s 2009 Outstanding Young Alumni Award, served on both the Terry College Young Alumni Board and UGA Innovation District External Advisory Board.

But the family’s commitment to UGA extends beyond service. The Knox family has contributed to an array of UGA schools, colleges, causes and initiatives. Shell and Wyck have supported honors, law and business students — their Knox Scholarship Fund alone has supported over 280 students since it was established in 1976 — and they established a Georgia Commitment Scholarship in 2017. Shell and Wyck’s children are carrying on the legacy of giving back, supporting scholarships, student well-being, experiential learning and a variety of campus priorities.