Campus Talk: UA Fundraising Exceeds 2015 Fiscal Year Goal

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UA FUNDRAISING EXCEEDS 2015 FISCAL YEAR GOAL
The University of Arkansas raised $116.5 million in private gift support in fiscal year 2015, surpassing the $100 million mark for the fifth consecutive year and marking the fourth-best year in the university’s fundraising history.

The amount raised surpassed the university’s goal of $112 million and included gifts of cash, gifts-in-kind, planned gifts and new pledges to the U of A received from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015.

Approximately $20.8 million of the total amount raised, or nearly 18%, was allocated for endowed funds and will add to the university’s overall endowment total. Cash receipts, which include pledge payments, outright gifts and estate and planned gift distributions, reached nearly $98 million in fiscal year 2015.

Students and programs were supported with 40 percent of the money raised, while 40 percent supported capital improvements, 10 percent supported faculty and staff and 10 percent supported other initiatives. The campus brought in a record-setting 91,728 outright gifts and new pledges from 49,570 benefactors during the fiscal year. Fundraising totals reached $121.3 million in 2011, $108.1 million in 2012, $108.4 million in 2013 and $113.3 million in 2014.

STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT CAMPAIGN PROMOTES SCHOOL BUS SAFETY
The Arkansas Department of Education recently kicked off its annual school bus safety campaign to increase the importance of obeying traffic laws when near a stopped school bus. “Flashing Red. Kids Ahead” is a three-week campaign to remind motorists that it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus whenever its red lights are flashing, as students are getting on and off the bus.

According to Education Department officials, more than 6,000 school buses transport over a quarter of a million Arkansas students daily to and from school and school-related activities. As a result of Arkansas Act 2128 of 2005, known as Isaac’s Law, the fines, penalties and punishment for anyone found guilty of illegally passing a stopped school bus were dramatically increased.

UCA NAMES NEW EDUCATION DEAN
Dr. Victoria-Groves Scott has been tabbed as the new dean of the College of Education at the University of Central Arkansas, officials announced last week. Prior to coming to UCA, Groves-Scott, a native of Northwest Arkansas, had served as assistant dean of the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Groves-Scott began her career as an elementary special education classroom teacher. During the last 20 years, she has worked in various roles at three institutions of higher education including Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the Associated Colleges of Central Kansas and the University of Kansas.

UALR ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR FOR INSTITUTE ON RACE AND ETHNICITY
University of Arkansas at Little Rock officials recently announced that Dr. John Kirk has been named as the new director of the university’s Institute on Race and Ethnicity. A Great Britain native who served as UALR”s Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History, Kirk has garnered international acclaim for his research and writings on race and the civil rights movement — with a particular focus on Little Rock. Kirk has been a member of the Chancellor’s Committee on Race and Ethnicity since he arrived at the university more than five years ago.