UA to receive $550,000 for scholarship campaign

The University of Arkansas will receive $550,000 from three donations to the Land of Opportunity Scholarship, which was publicly launched in November 2024.

The scholarship campaign is a three-year initiative to expand educational access for students in all 75 counties in Arkansas, improve graduation rates, and foster engagement between the UA and businesses throughout the state. As of Jan. 31, the campaign raised 69% of its goal in 42% of the time with more than $137.33 million in pledges and commitments.

UA alumna Leah Glover Hales recently committed $500,000 to the scholarship endowment. Hales grew up outside Little Rock in Saline County and graduated from the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design in 1994. Hales is a landscape architect and director at LandDesign in Dallas.

Arkansas natives Tracy and Lisa Young recently gave $25,000 to the scholarship campaign. Tracy Young grew up in El Dorado and graduated from the Sam M. Walton College of Business in 1997. He’s worked in accounting for nearly 30 years and is a partner and market sector leader in health care at Forvis Mazars in Houston.

Lisa Young grew up in Eureka Springs and began her college career at the UA before earning a management degree from the University of Central Arkansas. She spent two decades in retail management and volunteers with Ronald McDonald House Charities in Houston.

Arkansas natives Denese and Dr. William Jackson recently committed $25,000 to the scholarship endowment. Denese Jackson, from West Helena, and William Jackson, from the Lake Village area, met at the UA on Denese Jackson’s first day there after transferring from a private college. She was a sophomore studying chemical engineering, and he was a senior preparing for optometry school. William Jackson earned a Doctor of Optometry from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., and built a successful career in optometry.

Denese Jackson had a successful career at Dow Chemical Co. and recently launched the Better Life in Sight Foundation, as the nonprofit arm of The Eye Contact Inc. in Lake Jackson, Texas.