UA to Award Honorary Degree to Alice Walton

The University of Arkansas announced plans Thursday to award an honorary degree to philanthropist Alice Walton.

The youngest daughter of Walmart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton and his wife, Helen, will receive an honorary Doctor of Arts and Humane Letters degree during the spring commencement ceremony May 12 in Fayetteville.

Walton was the driving force behind the creation of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, which opened in November.

UA chancellor G. David Gearhart said that is just the latest example of Walton’s influence and impact on her home state.

“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,” he said in a news release. “Alice Walton is a very special individual. 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 bachelor’s degree in economics from Trinity University in San Antonio, helped bring Northwest Arkansas business and political leaders together in 1990 to form the Northwest Arkansas Council, and was the first chair of this community development organization.

The council played a major role in creating the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. Walton helped finance the project and provided the initial seed capital to fund construction. The Alice L. Walton Terminal Building was named after her to recognize her contribution and support.

Walton has also played a guiding role in the Walton Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization that has made significant donations to the UA, transforming the Sam M. Walton College of Business, creating the Honors College and endowing the Graduate School, turning each into nationally prominent and competitive institutions.

She has continued to take an active interest in the university, serving on the Board of Advisors for the Graduate School of Business.