{{Short description|American businessman and philanthropist}} {{Infobox person | name = James T. Stephens | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1939|04|14}} | birth_place = Birmingham, Alabama, US | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | known_for = Chairman of EBSCO Industries | education = | alma_mater = Yale University<br />Harvard University (MBA) | employer = | occupation = Businessman | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | political_party = | boards = | spouse = Julie Stephens | children = 4 | parents = Elton Bryson Stephens, Sr. | relatives = }} '''James T. Stephens''' (born April 14, 1939) is an American businessman and philanthropist from Alabama.
==Early life== James T. Stephens was born on April 14, 1939, in Birmingham, Alabama.<ref name="academy">{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.alabama.gov/famous/academy/james_t_stephens.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130223033916/http://www.archives.alabama.gov/famous/academy/James_T_Stephens.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 23, 2013|title=Alabama Academy of Honor: James T. Stephens|author=|date=|website=www.archives.alabama.gov|accessdate=24 October 2017}}</ref> His father, Elton Bryson Stephens, Sr., founded EBSCO Industries in 1944.<ref name="forbesrichestfamilies">[https://www.forbes.com/profile/stephens/?list=families America's Richest Families: Stephens family], ''Forbes''</ref><ref name="connorsheets">Connor Sheets, [http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/03/who_are_the_richest_alabamians.html Who are the richest Alabamians now that billionaire Marguerite Harbert has passed?], ''The Birmingham News'', March 23, 2015</ref><ref name="birminghamnews">Michael Tomberlin, [http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf/2014/07/stephens_family_may_be_better.html Stephens family may be better known in Birmingham for generosity than $4 billion wealth], ''The Birmingham News'', July 10, 2014</ref> His mother was the former Alys Robinson.<ref name="forbesrichestfamilies"/>
He graduated from Yale University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1961.<ref name="academy"/> He earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1964.<ref name="academy"/>
==Career== Stephens served as a lieutenant in the United States Army.<ref name="forbesrichestfamilies"/> He joined the family business, EBSCO Industries, where he served as president from 1970 to 2005.<ref name="academy"/> He served as its chairman from 2002 to 2017.<ref name="forbesrichestfamilies"/><ref name="connorsheets"/>
He was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2012.<ref name="academy"/>
==Philanthropy== Stephens previously served as the chairman of the boards of trustees of the Highlands School in Mountain Brook, Alabama, the Altamont School, and Birmingham-Southern College.<ref name="academy"/> Additionally, he served as the chairman of the Greater Alabama Council of the Boy Scouts of America.<ref name="academy"/>
He donated US$2 million to the United Way of Central Alabama.<ref name="academy"/> He has endowed scholarships at Jefferson State Community College, Troy University, and Birmingham-Southern College.<ref name="academy"/> He has also made charitable contributions to the God's Outreach Center in Harpersville, Alabama as well as UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders.<ref name="academy"/>
With his father, Stephens donated US$2.5 million to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.<ref name="birminghamnews"/> They also donated US$15 million for the construction of the Elton B. Stephens Science Center on the campus of Birmingham–Southern College.<ref name="birminghamnews"/>
==Personal life== He is married to Julie Stephens.<ref name="academy"/> They have four children.<ref name="academy"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, James T.}} Category:Living people Category:1939 births Category:People from Mountain Brook, Alabama Category:Yale University alumni Category:Harvard Business School alumni Category:United States Army officers Category:Businesspeople from Birmingham, Alabama Category:Philanthropists from Alabama James T. Category:American billionaires