Alice Walton To Receive Honorary Degree From UA
by February 16, 2012 9:25 am 92 views
The University of Arkansas will honor Alice Walton with an honorary Doctor of Arts and Humane Letters at its spring commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 12.
Walton, daughter of Walmart founders Sam and Helen Walton, is the visionary and financier of the newly opened Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.
“There are very few individuals who have the ability to make truly transformational changes in people’s lives or in the way institutions operate; far fewer individuals act on that ability. Alice Walton is a very special individual,” said UA Chancellor David Gearhart. “We want to honor what she has done already for Northwest Arkansas, the state of Arkansas, and of course, this university.”
Walton, who has a background in investments, banking and finance, helped bring Northwest Arkansas business and political leaders together in 1990 to form the Northwest Arkansas Council, a influential group dedicated to advancing regional causes such as airport and highway needs. Walton has also played a guiding role in the Walton Family Foundation, one of the nation’s foremost philanthropic organizations.