Continuing a Legacy of Philanthropy Hank Ingram '13 recently established the Ingram Family Student Opportunity Endowment to further community-based learning opportunities for W&L students in Rockbridge County.

Kelsey Goodwin
February 18, 2025

Orrin H. “Hank” Ingram III ’13 recently brought his family, including his infant son, to campus to mark the addition of his name to the Honored Benefactors Wall in Washington Hall, continuing a family legacy of philanthropy that he hopes will benefit Washington and Lee University and the surrounding community for years to come.

Ingram recently established the Ingram Family Student Opportunity Endowment to further community-based learning opportunities for W&L students in Rockbridge County through his family’s charitable giving organization, Ingram Charities. The endowment will support internships at local organizations, summer research opportunities and outreach programming that connects students with community needs.

“With this endowment, it is our intention that students will have the opportunity to engage with the community to see first-hand how their classroom experiences can be applied beyond the walls of the University,” Ingram said. “Not only will this benefit our students in their future endeavors, but Rockbridge County will be enriched by their efforts.”

Sascha Goluboff, director of Community-Based Learning, said the endowment will imbue the office with the flexibility to develop new and innovative ways for students to engage meaningfully with the local community.

“We’re excited about brainstorming with local partners about new outreach opportunities that connect our students with community members and their needs,” Goluboff said, “as well as connecting students to mentors in the community. It really opens up a wide variety of possibilities for creativity, excitement and innovation.”

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Ingram Charities represents the philanthropic efforts of the Ingram family and businesses, focusing on the arts, education and health and human services. Their contributions to Washington and Lee began in 2009 when Ingram enrolled, leading to the establishment of the Pamela H. Simpson Professorship to honor a trailblazing educator.

In addition to driving strategic investment as the business development director for Ingram Industries, Ingram is the founder of Brown Water Spirits, which makes O.H. Ingram River Aged Whiskey — the world’s only whiskey aged inside a floating barrelhouse on the Mississippi River.

Ingram has served W&L in many capacities in the short time since his graduation through co-chairing his 10th Reunion Committee, serving on the Young Alumni Council and as president of the Nashville Alumni Chapter and most recently through his role as a member of the Leading Lives of Consequence Campaign Council. After graduation from W&L, Ingram earned his M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, equipping him with the expertise to navigate the currents of business and the legacy of his family’s pioneering spirit.

Entrepreneurship runs as deeply in Ingram’s bloodline as his family’s commitment to philanthropy. For more than five generations, the Ingram family has built thriving businesses centered around the Mississippi River, beginning in the mid-1800s when his great-great-great-grandfather, Orrin Henry Ingram, founded the Empire Lumber Company. The family’s connection to the waterway continued in 1946 when Ingram’s great-grandfather established the Ingram Barge Company in Nashville. Ingram said his family’s work ethic, wide-ranging interests and commitment to community aligned with the value system he observed at W&L when he began his college search.

“When I set foot on W&L’s campus, I saw a small school that offered close relationships between students and professors, surrounded by an incredible institutional history that goes back to before the nation’s founding,” Ingram said. “And once I learned about the Honor System, I said, ‘Well, this is almost a perfect alignment with my family’s values.’”

Ingram says his family’s value in trust and honesty has been taught for generations. “My dad has always driven this into me – because his father did, and his father before him – and that is that your word is your bond,” Ingram continued. “The most important thing you have in this world is trust. The fact that the W&L community essentially runs on trust told me right away this was an environment I would do well in.”

In addition to his relationships with professors and transformative Spring Term Abroad experiences in Costa Rica and Ireland, Ingram recalled the opportunity to hear from diverse speakers on campus and to see his classmates engage with them respectfully made an impression on him as a student.

“One of the things that W&L does so well is create an environment with a diversity of opinion where people also listen to each other with respect, even if they disagree,” Ingram said. Ingram added that the diverse perspectives and respectful dialogue he encountered at W&L have made him an open-minded and adaptable entrepreneur, unafraid to challenge conventional thinking or consider viewpoints that differ from his own – a flexibility he said has given him the ability to pivot quickly and make sound decisions even in fast-paced or uncertain business environments.

Ingram said the university’s emphasis on critical thinking and interdisciplinary learning has proven invaluable in developing innovative ideas and business plans throughout his career.

“The ability to draw connections across different fields taught me how to tackle complex business issues from multiple angles,” Ingram said.

He credits the critical thinking skills and collaboration he learned as a student, coupled with a strong ethical foundation, as being instrumental in shaping how he has approached his life and career.