Flags being lowered Friday in honor of regent and alumnus Sam Hunt

Sam Hunt wearing a WSU Cougars football jersey and standing in a field of sunflowers.
Washington State University Regent Sam Hunt (photo courtesy of the Hunt family)

Washington State University President Betsy Cantwell is requesting all flags across the system to be lowered to half-staff at close of business Friday, May 29, in honor of late regent and alumnus Sam Hunt.

In conjunction with Gov. Bob Ferguson’s directive, all flags at WSU locations will remain at half-staff through Saturday, May 30. On the same day, a memorial service for Hunt is taking place at the Student Union Building on the campus of South Puget Sound Community College at 1 p.m., with members of the public invited to attend.

Hunt, a longtime legislator and civic leader who spent more than five decades in public service, passed away in April at the age of 83. Upon retiring from the Washington Legislature in 2024, Hunt was appointed to the WSU Board of Regents. His family described the role as a dream come true for the 1967 graduate who always wore his Crimson and Gray allegiance on his sleeve.

A new scholarship fund — the Sam Hunt Memorial Scholarship Fund — was established in his honor following his passing.

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