Wise Young
04-12-2002, 08:04 AM
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/12/education/12GIFT.html
April 12, 2002
University of Arkansas Receives $300 Million Pledge
By JACQUES STEINBERG
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he University of Arkansas announced yesterday that it had received a commitment for a $300 million gift from the Walton family, heirs of the founder of the Wal-Mart chain. The donation would more than double the size of the university's endowment (most recently valued at $234 million) and is believed to be the largest contribution pledged to a public university.
University officials said they planned to use the gift to create an honors college at the main Fayetteville campus to attract top undergraduates who might otherwise choose universities outside the state, and to strengthen graduate programs in disciplines like business, engineering and basic sciences.
"What the Walton family has done today will improve life in Arkansas for generations to come," the university chancellor, John A. White, said in a statement. "Our state cannot compete in a global economy without a better-educated citizenry."
Mr. White said Arkansas ranked 49th among the 50 states in the percentage of adults with bachelor's and advanced degrees.
Rob Walton, the chairman of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and a 1966 graduate of the university, said in a statement that the gift, made by his family's charitable foundation, was intended "to improve the standard of living for everyone" in the state and "to develop a vibrant social and cultural life as well."
Wal-Mart, which was founded by Rob Walton's father, Sam, is based in Bentonville, Ark.
The gift, if received in full, would eclipse the $250 million worth of stock committed to the University of Colorado in 2001 by William T. Coleman III, the chairman of BEA Systems Inc., and his wife, Claudia. The Chronicle of Higher Education ranks that commitment as the largest private gift to a public university. It also would eclipse the $150 million bequeathed this year to the University of Texas by John A. Jackson, a retired oil industry executive.
The largest donation pledged to a private institution, the Chronicle says, is $600 million, which was promised last year to the California Institute of Technology by Gordon Moore, the longtime chairman of the Intel Corporation, and his wife, Betty.
Arkansas officials said the Walton gift would enable them to increase the undergraduate enrollment of the Fayetteville campus to 17,000, from 12,500, by 2010. About 2,000 of those students, recruited from both within the state and without, would be enrolled at the proposed honors college, and nearly all would be absolved of paying the $10,000 that the university charges Arkansas residents for annual tuition, room and board.
"Wherever they come from," the university said in a news release, "their matriculation at the University of Arkansas greatly increases the likelihood that they will live in Arkansas after graduation."
April 12, 2002
University of Arkansas Receives $300 Million Pledge
By JACQUES STEINBERG
Topics
Â*Alerts
University of Arkansas
Gifts
Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated
Create Your Own | Manage Alerts
Take a Tour
Sign Up for Newsletters
he University of Arkansas announced yesterday that it had received a commitment for a $300 million gift from the Walton family, heirs of the founder of the Wal-Mart chain. The donation would more than double the size of the university's endowment (most recently valued at $234 million) and is believed to be the largest contribution pledged to a public university.
University officials said they planned to use the gift to create an honors college at the main Fayetteville campus to attract top undergraduates who might otherwise choose universities outside the state, and to strengthen graduate programs in disciplines like business, engineering and basic sciences.
"What the Walton family has done today will improve life in Arkansas for generations to come," the university chancellor, John A. White, said in a statement. "Our state cannot compete in a global economy without a better-educated citizenry."
Mr. White said Arkansas ranked 49th among the 50 states in the percentage of adults with bachelor's and advanced degrees.
Rob Walton, the chairman of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and a 1966 graduate of the university, said in a statement that the gift, made by his family's charitable foundation, was intended "to improve the standard of living for everyone" in the state and "to develop a vibrant social and cultural life as well."
Wal-Mart, which was founded by Rob Walton's father, Sam, is based in Bentonville, Ark.
The gift, if received in full, would eclipse the $250 million worth of stock committed to the University of Colorado in 2001 by William T. Coleman III, the chairman of BEA Systems Inc., and his wife, Claudia. The Chronicle of Higher Education ranks that commitment as the largest private gift to a public university. It also would eclipse the $150 million bequeathed this year to the University of Texas by John A. Jackson, a retired oil industry executive.
The largest donation pledged to a private institution, the Chronicle says, is $600 million, which was promised last year to the California Institute of Technology by Gordon Moore, the longtime chairman of the Intel Corporation, and his wife, Betty.
Arkansas officials said the Walton gift would enable them to increase the undergraduate enrollment of the Fayetteville campus to 17,000, from 12,500, by 2010. About 2,000 of those students, recruited from both within the state and without, would be enrolled at the proposed honors college, and nearly all would be absolved of paying the $10,000 that the university charges Arkansas residents for annual tuition, room and board.
"Wherever they come from," the university said in a news release, "their matriculation at the University of Arkansas greatly increases the likelihood that they will live in Arkansas after graduation."