News Release

CHAPEL HILL -- Millard Fuller, president and founder of Habitat for Humanity International, will speak at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School on Feb. 8, as part of the Dean’s Speaker Series.

A reception and book signing will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Kenan Center dining room; Fuller’s lecture will follow, at 6:30 p.m., in the McColl Building’s Maurice J. Koury Auditorium.

The event is co-sponsored by UNC Habitat for Humanity and the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative. To RSVP for the free lecture or for more information, call (919) 843-7787 or e-mail kfbsrsvp@unc.edu. Parking will be available in the business school’s parking deck.

From humble beginnings in Alabama, Fuller became a millionaire at age 29. However, dissatisfaction with his wealth drove Fuller and his wife to sell all of their possessions, give the money to the poor and begin searching for a new focus in their lives. This search led them to Koinonia Farm, a Christian community in Georgia where the Fullers initiated a ministry in housing. Fuller’s housing model involved building modest homes on a no-profit, no-interest basis, thus making homes affordable for low-income families.

After successfully testing this housing model in Africa, Fuller was convinced that it could be applied worldwide. Upon his return to the United States, he and a group of associates decided to create a new independent organization: Habitat for Humanity International.

Habitat is at work in 100 countries and has grown to be one of the top house builders in the United States. Nearly 900,000 people now have safe, affordable shelter because of Habitat’s work worldwide.

Fuller has received numerous awards for his work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. He has written nine books about his life and work, the most recent being "Building Materials for Life, Volume II."

For information on upcoming lectures in the Dean’s Speaker Series, visit www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/News/Events/.

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UNC Kenan-Flagler contact: Kim Weaver Spurr, (919) 962-8951 or spurrk@unc.edu