Long after his banking career ended, Buell Duncan Jr.’s investment continues to pay dividends — not in profits, but in potential. His endowed scholarship that he created through a planned gift opened the door to college for students like Jennifer Lemineur ’22 ’25MS, who once doubted she’d ever walk through it.
Duncan spent his life championing Orlando and helping to build the city it would become.
Building His Legacy in Orlando Business and at UCF
A graduate of Emory University and a U.S. Air Force veteran, Duncan began as a bank teller at First National Bank of Orlando, later known as SunBank and eventually SunTrust. Over four decades, he rose through the ranks to become president, chairman and CEO of SunTrust Banks of Florida, retiring in 1993.
Known for his optimism and civic spirit, Duncan played a key role in several transformative moments for Central Florida. In the 1960s, he was part of the banking team that helped secure Walt Disney World’s move to the region. In the 1970s, he led the financing effort that made possible the construction of Orlando International Airport’s main terminal.
Duncan’s leadership extended well beyond banking. He served as president of the Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement, the Florida Council of 100 and the Federal Reserve Bank of Florida. He also served on the UCF Foundation Board of Directors, where a graduate business scholarship now bears his name.
In 1989, Duncan established a scholarship for graduate students in the UCF College of Business — a planned gift that would one day help students like Lemineur pursue their dreams.
Join fellow UCF supporters on FreeWill, a safe, secure and complimentary suite of estate-planning essentials. Your legacy could be the spark that inspires another student’s journey. For more information on making a planned gift to UCF, visit planned.giving.ucf.edu.
Lemineur’s Long Road to UCF
Years later, on a Tuesday afternoon, Lemineur sat in the back of her accounting class at Broward College, unaware that a single lecture was charting the course of her future. As her professor explained the symmetry of balance sheets, she realized she had found her calling.
But soon after, her life changed drastically. In early 2020, her cousin Patricia, who Lemineur says was like a sister, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and passed away that June. Within weeks, Lemineur lost three more relatives. Grieving in isolation during the pandemic, she tried to make sense of a world that felt unrecognizable. Then came one bright spot: her acceptance to the University of Central Florida.
Lemineur’s transition to UCF was overwhelming. Still reeling from loss, she struggled and landed on academic probation her first semester. But she refused to give up. Determined to prove she belonged, she rebuilt her GPA, earned her place on the dean’s list and graduated with a . She was accepted into UCF’s graduate program, began working as a teaching assistant and received her earlier this year.
Lemineur, now an audit associate at Deloitte, says she credits the Buell G. Duncan Jr. Graduate Business Administration Scholarship Fund with helping make it possible.
“Mr. Duncan’s scholarship made a profound difference in my life,” Lemineur says. “It not only eased the financial burden of graduate school but also showed me the lasting impact that generosity can have. His support allowed me to focus on achieving my goals and inspired me to one day give back in the same way.”
Though Duncan never met students like Lemineur, whose lives his generosity would transform, his legacy lives on in every Knight who dares to dream bigger because of his gift. His scholarship didn’t just fund education, it ignited possibility. And as recipients like Lemineur go on to shape industries, communities and the world itself, Duncan’s investment fuels a future boldly invented — one life, one breakthrough, one fearless step at a time.
