UA launches ‘Campaign Arkansas’ to raise $1 billion by June 2020

The University of Arkansas launched a multi-year fundraising campaign aiming to raise $1 billion by June 30, 2020. Money raised with Campaign Arkansas will support the university’s academic mission and other key priorities.

“One of the top priorities of the campaign is to increase need-based scholarships for Arkansans, but that’s just the beginning,” UA Chancellor Joe Steinmetz said in a statement. “Our commitment to Campaign Arkansas is critical to the future of the University of Arkansas and our efforts to keep tuition affordable while enhancing academic opportunities for our faculty and students. Without increases in state funding, private fundraising is the mechanism that allows us to support student scholarships, research and innovation, study aboard opportunities, the creation of new interdisciplinary programs and the renovation of our existing facilities.”

Campaign Arkansas will raise funds for scholarships and fellowships, endowed chairs, capital projects, interdisciplinary academic programs and other priority areas that will advance the university’s goals and objectives. This funding is needed to provide the level of education, experience and environment that ensures the UA remains a top-tier research institution for students and the state.

Alumni and friends who make up the campaign’s volunteer leadership committee voted to set the initial goal of $1 billion at their fall meeting Friday (Sept. 16). The new capital campaign comes on the heels of the completed billion-dollar Campaign for the Twenty-First Century.

“Clearly, the impact of our previous campaign is still being felt on our campus today,” said Mark Power, interim vice chancellor for university advancement. “We hope to build upon that foundation with Campaign Arkansas. We believe our alumni and friends are excited about the opportunity to support the programs and needs that mean the most to them while taking the university to new heights.”

All colleges and schools on campus, as well as units such as Diversity Affairs, Student Affairs, Intercollegiate Athletics, the Arkansas Alumni Association, University Bands, the Pryor Center and University Libraries, will benefit from Campaign Arkansas. Each college, school and unit is represented by volunteers who serve on the Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee, and each unit also has its own committee of volunteers, specifically dedicated to unit-level success.

Reynie Rutledge, chair of the UA System Board of Trustees, will serve as chair of the Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee through June 2017. He is joined by Johnelle Hunt, Marilyn Bogle, Boyce Billingsley, Bob and Sandra Connor, Doug and Shelley McMillon and Bill Dillard II on the campaign’s executive committee.

“I am very excited to be leading Campaign Arkansas through its launch this year,” said Rutledge. “One of the great things about the campaign will be its support of Chancellor Steinmetz’s strategic goals for the university. The Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee will be leading the charge to raise money for these priorities, which will ultimately elevate our campus to the next level and continue to make it accessible for students from Arkansas.”