UA Kicks Off $500 Million Campaign

The University of Arkansas officially announced its $500 million “Campaign for the Twenty-First Century” on Oct. 26, but the main campus of the UA system already has raised $270 million of that amount in gifts and pledges since July 1998.

The university hopes to bring in the other $230 million through the six-year fund-raising campaign to pay for endowed faculty chairs; scholarships; improvement to academic programs, libraries, research facilities and equipment; and increasing annual giving.

The campaign began its “quiet phase” on July 1, 1998, and will end on June 30, 2004.

In addition to a 94-member volunteer Steering Committee, made up of alumni and friends, five prominent Arkansans have agreed to serve in volunteer leadership posts for the campaign. They are Rob Walton, a 1966 UA graduate and chairman of the board of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.; Tommy Boyer, a 1964 UA graduate and owner and CEO of Micro Images of Amarillo, Texas; Jim Walton, a 1971 UA graduate and chairman and CEO of Arvest Bank Group Inc. of Bentonville; Frank Broyles, UA men’s athletic director and former head football coach; and Johnelle Hunt, corporate secretary of J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. of Lowell.