UA alums give $150,000 to Brewer Entrepreneurship Hub, student scholarships

University of Arkansas alumni Greg and Hannah Lee of Fayetteville have pledged $150,000 to the UA to support the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub and establish an endowed scholarship for first-generation college students from Arkansas, according to the UA.

An Advance Arkansas scholarship, the Greg W. and Hannah Lee Advance Arkansas Endowed Scholarship will be created with $50,000, and $100,000 will go to support the Brewer Entrepreneurship Hub. The UA matches the amount given in private funding to Advance Arkansas scholarships, according to the school.

Both Greg and Hannah Lee are Arkansas natives and themselves first-generation college graduates.

“When we learned about these scholarships and their intended purpose, we knew we wanted to be involved,” Greg Lee said in the release. “The university has been a central part of our lives, and we want others to have the opportunities we had.”

The scholarship gives preference to students enrolled in the Sam M. Walton College of Business and students who attended high school in the Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas.

“It’s a bigger reach for students in the Delta who want to attend the U of A,” Lee said. “It’s also a target-rich environment for the university. The U of A is the university that stands out for the entire state, and Hannah and I want it to be representative of the state.”

Matt Waller, dean of the Walton College and the Sam M. Walton Leadership Chair, praised the Lees for their giving. “The Lees have been tireless supporters of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the University of Arkansas with their time and financial commitment to our success,” he said in the release. “Their continuing support of the Walton College serves as an example to all of Arkansas of the commitments made by our alumni and others to help students get a great education and for new businesses to take root and grow.”

The living room within the Brewer Hub will be named in honor of the Lee gift, according to the UA. The Brewer Hub is an interdisciplinary collaboration venue, co-working space and training center founded this fall for new and early-stage entrepreneurs in Northwest Arkansas. The hub is also for students seeking expert advice and will serve as a center for learning “about topics such as design thinking, accounting and legal issues in the real world,” according to the UA.

Greg Lee is a retired chief administrative officer and international president of Tyson Foods of Springdale. He serves on the Campaign Arkansas fundraiser steering committee, Arkansas Alumni Association board of directors and the Walton College Dean’s Executive Advisory Board. He is also co-chair of the Walton College campaign committee, according to the UA. Hannah Lee is a member of the Women’s Giving Circle. The Lees are members of the Chancellor’s Society and Towers of Old Main and are recognized as Thoroughbreds for their 24 years of consecutive giving to the UA.