Million-Dollar Gift Will Update and Expand Walton Tribute
by May 21, 2012 9:32 am 73 views
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation have each donated $500,000 to fund the renovation of a University of Arkansas exhibit honoring the late Sam Walton.
The combined $1 million gift, announced Monday, will update and expand the Sam M. Walton College of Business display found in the Business Administration Building on the UA campus.
UA chancellor G. David Gearhart said the gifts would help create a world-class tribute to its namesake.
According to a news release, the current exhibit is housed in a single display case in a secluded, low-traffic area of the building.
The renovation will highlight the Walton memorabilia over three levels of the building’s central stairway and atrium space and will include interactive displays, modern furnishings and high-quality lighting.
“I know our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends will enjoy learning more about his extraordinary legacy,” Gearhart said.
In 1998, the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation made a $50 million endowment to the UA College of Business Administration.
Less than a month later, the board of trustees voted to rename the business school the Sam M. Walton College of Business Administration.
The Walton College is ranked in the top 50 among public and private undergraduate business schools in the nation and in the top 30 among public business colleges, according to the U.S. News and World Report 2012 “America’s Best Colleges.”