U of A Announces $122.025 Million in Gifts Toward New Campaign
Members of the campus community, alumni, family and friends gathered on Tuesday to celebrate the announcement of the U of A’s new Land of Opportunity Scholarship campaign. Photo by Chieko Hara.
The University of Arkansas announces the public phase of a $200 million fundraising initiative to support its new Land of Opportunity Scholarship campaign. The three-year effort will create an endowment to bridge the gap in funding for academically successful Arkansans who exhibit a high level of financial need, including Pell-eligible students. This fall, the university welcomed the highest number of Arkansans ever enrolled.
“The University of Arkansas’ highest priority is preparing every student for lifelong success — helping them develop the knowledge and skills needed to achieve their goals and make meaningful contributions to their communities long after graduation,” Chancellor Charles Robinson said. “The Land of Opportunity Scholarship will better ensure that deserving Arkansas students have the support necessary to achieve their academic goals and live the American Dream. We’re incredibly grateful to the Hunt family and to all those who have generously supported this effort. Their commitment will benefit generations of Arkansans.”
The generosity of alumni and friends has secured $122.025 million toward the campaign goal of $200 million to offset financial barriers to academic success for Arkansas students. This total includes a signature planned gift in the amount of $100 million from Jane Hunt and Bryan Hunt on behalf of the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt family.
“J.B. Hunt, who was forced to quit school in the seventh grade and start working to help his family due to harsh economic conditions, was a visionary who persevered with grit and determination to achieve phenomenal success throughout his life,” said Scott Varady, vice chancellor for advancement. “Mr. Hunt also demonstrated compassion and humility to help others in Arkansas, and his legacy lives on through Jane Hunt and Bryan Hunt whose commitment to Arkansas students on behalf of the entire J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family will uplift the state of Arkansas for generations to come. We are profoundly grateful to Jane Hunt, Bryan and Mandy Hunt, Mrs. Hunt, and the entire Hunt family as well as all supporters of the Land of Opportunity Scholarship.”
Jane Hunt (left), Bryan Hunt and Chancellor Charles Robinson.
“Johnnie and I have always believed in education and supporting our state. Supporting Arkansas students and Arkansas business is especially meaningful to my family,” said Johnelle Hunt. “I believe the Land of Opportunity Scholarship will significantly elevate educational and economic opportunities for so many Arkansans. I am so grateful to everyone who has supported the Land of Opportunity Scholarship with their gifts. I encourage everyone to join the University of Arkansas to create a bright future for Arkansas through the Land of Opportunity Scholarship.”
As a pillar of the university’s 150 Forward Strategic Plan, student success is at the forefront of the university’s land-grant mission. Currently, an 18-point graduation rate gap exists between Arkansans who are Pell-grant eligible and those students who have sufficient resources to pay for their education. To help eliminate this challenge, the Land of Opportunity Scholarship will support undergraduate students from Arkansas who exhibit strong academic ability and high financial need. Land of Opportunity scholars will engage in wrap-around student success support including mentorship, academic coaching, financial planning, and career readiness programs that lead to higher retention and graduation outcomes.
“We are pleased to be able to provide this additional support to Arkansas students, who are ambitious and academically prepared, but who may need a little extra to cross the finish line and graduate,” said Suzanne McCray, vice provost of Enrollment Services and dean of admissions. “We want to be able to help launch them to successful academic and professional careers. This new scholarship has the potential to make an important difference not only for the students and for our campus, but also for their communities and for our state.”
High impact educational practices, including internships, undergraduate research, service learning, and study abroad programs, are proven indicators of student success. The Land of Opportunity Scholarship will empower Arkansas students to have access to a robust, statewide internship program with Arkansas-based companies and to participate in other high-impact educational practices.
“After graduating from the University of Arkansas, I began my teaching career in the Arkansas Delta, and I have been committed to helping Arkansans break the cycle of poverty by attaining a college degree. We know that removing financial barriers is a pathway to graduation and career success,” said Jane Hunt. “When you earn a degree from a university you’re on your way. Arkansas was the Land of Opportunity for my dad. Supporting this effort is exactly what we should be doing and we are proud to be a part of it.”
The Land of Opportunity Scholarship will solidify and strengthen the Arkansas workforce for the benefit of the Arkansas business community.
“Our family is proud that the graduates of the Univerity of Arkansas have played a pivotal role in the success of J.B. Hunt Transport over the years,” said Bryan Hunt. “Jane and I know that our dad would be proud of the Land of Opportunity Scholarship. We want to help ensure that talented students from Arkansas have the opportunity for success now and in the future. The Land of Opportunity Scholarship will not only help Arkansans, but it is a win for Arkansas businesses and our state’s future. We are excited about the internship opportunities that will exist and be beneficial for everyone.”
The Land of Opportunity Scholarship Campaign is a three-year initiative to create educational access opportunities for students from all 75 counties in Arkansas, to create a two-way street between the university and businesses throughout the state, and to fulfill the insitution’s land-grant mission to uplift Arkansas.
To achieve these objectives, the university has attracted the support of many alumni and friends who have supported this campaign, through joining the Land of Opportunity Scholarship Leaders of Arkansas Founders’ Circle with a gift of at least $1 million: Jane Hunt, Bryan and Mandy Hunt, and Mrs. Johnelle Hunt and the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt family; Bill and Mandy Dillard; the Chris and Jamie Fowler family; the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation; Becky and Bob Alexander and the Becky and Bob Alexander Charitable Foundation; Rick Massey and Anne Goodman and the Massey Family Charitable Foundation; the Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Catherine H. Mayton and Michael R. Mayton, Trustees; and Bruce and Rebecca Woody.
Chancellor Charles Robinson speaks about the new Land of Opportunity Scholarship Campaign.
Additional gifts to the Land of Opportunity Scholarship have been contributed in honor of Michael R. Mayton by Catherine H. Mayton; Kevin and Stephanie Wilcox; Chip and Suzanne Beard; Mary Curtis, Ann and Gene Bordelon; Jim and Susan von Gremp; John Berry and Richard Leigh Anderson; Jane and Dave Gearhart; Russel and Lucretia Plumley; Charles Robinson and Reynelda Augustine-Robinson; and Scott and Melissa Varady.
“For decades, the official state motto of Arkansas was the Land of Opportunity,” said Scott Varady, vice chancellor for University Advancement. “The university believes the Land of Opportunity Scholarship will deliver on that promise and create a connection to that proud Arkansas heritage. The Land of Opportunity Scholarship is a generational investment in the lifelong success of Arkansas students and a commitment to fostering economic opportunity and prosperity for the state of Arkansas.”
The university will initiate an application process for the Land of Opportunity Scholarship during the 2025-26 academic year, and the first cohort of Land of Opportunity scholars will begin their studies in the fall 2026 semester.
About University Advancement: University Advancement advances the mission of the University of Arkansas by raising private gift support from alumni, friends, parents, foundations, corporations, and other institutional supporters. Working in philanthropic partnership with academic leaders and volunteers, Advancement team members are determined to advance the people, work, and impact of the greater whole at the University of Arkansas.
About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas’ flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.
This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.