Billingsleys Donate $9.3 Million to UA, Children?s Hospital

George and Boyce Billingsley of Bella Vista will provide almost $8.4 million to the University of Arkansas to fund scholarships and endowed chair positions in four colleges and to assist the athletic department. The couple also donated $930,000 to support Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.

The charitable remainder trust will be split among these colleges and departments on the UA’s Fayetteville campus:

• Sam M. Walton College of Business — $1.5 million for an endowed chair.

• College of Education and Health Professions — $1.5 million for an endowed chair.

• College of Engineering — $1.5 million for an endowed chair.

• Department of history in the Fulbright College — $1.5 million for an endowed chair University libraries — $500,000 for endowed acquisitions fund.

• Chancellor’s scholarships — $900,000 plus the remainder of the trust value at the time of transfer to the UA.

• Razorback Foundation Inc. — $930,000 for men’s athletics.

The Billingsleys’ trust will also benefit the endowment fund of Arkansas Children’s Hospital with a gift of $930,000.

George Billingsley, a 1957 UA graduate in history, is chairman and CEO of Pacific Resources Export Ltd. and president of International Tours of Northwest Arkansas. He and his wife, Boyce, a 1955 graduate in finance and banking, are members of the Chancellor’s Society and contributors to the restoration of Old Main.

“You can’t turn down your university,” Billingsley said. “They do a good job. I think Chancellor [John] White is doing an outstanding job. He and David Gearhart are going to be a team to take the university through giant steps forward.”

Gearhart is vice chancellor for university advancement.