Frank H. Kenan
Frank H. Kenan was a successful businessman and generous philanthropist whose vision fueled local economic development and advanced higher education and the arts. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1935, Kenan bought a Durham-based oil distributor and established the Tops Petroleum service stations. He parlayed that into Kenan Transport, a $50 million-a-year Chapel Hill-based petroleum distributor and hauler. At one time, it was the largest transportation company in the Southeast. Kenan also worked in land development, creating and managing landmark properties. He was one of the original directors of the Research Triangle Park, designed to attract and retain research-based industries that would hire graduates of the area universities. In the 1970s, he became CEO of Flagler System Inc., the Palm Beach-based resort property management company that has been in his family since 1896. At that time, he also acquired Franklin Street’s University Square, upgrading and expanding the property. He stipulated that should it ever be up for sale, University Square be offered to UNC first, and in 2008, the 12-acre property was sold to the University for redevelopment. Kenan added Chapel Hill’s Europa Center to his portfolio in the late 1980s and oversaw its expansion. He also was involved in creating Landfall, the gated community in Wilmington.
A proud alumnus, Kenan supported his alma mater with generous gifts of time, counsel and funding. He sat on numerous UNC boards and committees, including the Board of Visitors, and on the boards of its business, medical, and arts and sciences foundations, among others.
Kenan was a visionary philanthropist, one of the first to employ matching gifts and challenge grants as incentives. He personally supported many local nonprofits and service organizations, but is best known for the work he did via his family’s charitable funds and trusts. Kenan served on the boards of the Sarah Graham Kenan Foundation and the Kenan Family Foundation, among others. As a trustee of the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, he established a separate fund to establish a research and teaching program focused on private enterprise. This later became the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC’s business school, which became the Kenan-Flagler Business School in 1991. Kenan received many accolades, including the North Carolina Public Service Award, the North Carolina Philanthropy Award, the UNC General Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Medal and Distinguished Alumnus Award.
For his philanthropic largesse, his business and civic leadership, and his role in developing Chapel Hill and its University, we proudly induct Frank Hawkins Kenan into the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Business Hall of Fame.
A proud alumnus, Kenan supported his alma mater with generous gifts of time, counsel and funding. He sat on numerous UNC boards and committees, including the Board of Visitors, and on the boards of its business, medical, and arts and sciences foundations, among others.
Kenan was a visionary philanthropist, one of the first to employ matching gifts and challenge grants as incentives. He personally supported many local nonprofits and service organizations, but is best known for the work he did via his family’s charitable funds and trusts. Kenan served on the boards of the Sarah Graham Kenan Foundation and the Kenan Family Foundation, among others. As a trustee of the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, he established a separate fund to establish a research and teaching program focused on private enterprise. This later became the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC’s business school, which became the Kenan-Flagler Business School in 1991. Kenan received many accolades, including the North Carolina Public Service Award, the North Carolina Philanthropy Award, the UNC General Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Medal and Distinguished Alumnus Award.
For his philanthropic largesse, his business and civic leadership, and his role in developing Chapel Hill and its University, we proudly induct Frank Hawkins Kenan into the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Business Hall of Fame.