In December 2023, the Vulcan Materials Company/Bennie Bumpers Endowed Scholarship was established to support students studying risk management and insurance in Samford University’s Brock School of Business.

 

This scholarship honors the contributions made to Vulcan Materials Company and the risk management and insurance industry by Bennie Bumpers ’63. During his more than 40-year tenure at Vulcan, Bumpers developed ground-breaking and innovative strategies, ensuring the company maintained a competitive advantage in the United States and abroad. Bumpers retired from Vulcan in 2007 as the vice president of risk management, leaving a legacy that has allowed that department to be considered the industry standard.

 

Bumpers became well-known for building relationships with risk management and insurance professionals around the world through his tenure as national director and state president of the Risk and Insurance Management Society and president of the North Alabama chapter of the Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriters.

 

The Vulcan Materials Company/Bennie Bumpers Endowed Scholarship is available yearly to two students in Brock School of Business who maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 and are pursuing the risk management and insurance concentration or a career in the risk management and insurance industry. In February 2024, a ceremony was held on Samford University’s campus for Vulcan Materials Company to present the endowed scholarship in honor of Bumpers.

 

Brock School of Business dean, Chad Carson, said, “We are grateful for Vulcan Materials’ support of this new scholarship and are proud to honor Mr. Bumpers’ life’s work in this way. This scholarship will help ensure our students’ success as they seek careers in the risk management and insurance industry.”

 

Vulcan Materials Company, one of Alabama’s two Fortune 500 companies, has a long history of supporting the community and educational partners.  As the nation’s largest producer of construction aggregates—primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel—and a major producer of aggregates-based construction materials, including asphalt and ready-mixed concrete, the importance of risk management and insurance is essential to sound business operations. The legacy of Bennie Bumpers and the Endowed Scholarship affirms Vulcan’s commitment to Samford University and this important educational discipline.

 

Bumpers still serves Samford by sitting on the Brock School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board.