Underwoods Continue Tradition of Supporting Walton College Faculty

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Alumni Bill and LeAnn Underwood of Fayetteville are establishing an honors faculty fellow endowment in the Sam M. Walton College of Business with a $250,000 gift. The contribution will create the Bill and LeAnn Underwood Honors Faculty Fellow Endowment and be used to support the faculty member leading the honors colloquium courses in Walton College.

“Bill and LeAnn have been phenomenal supporters of the University of Arkansas for years,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “Faculty support, in particular, has been an emphasis of theirs and gives us the ability to recruit and retain outstanding faculty members for our students. Bill’s story is an inspiring one, and the gifts he and LeAnn have made in support of the university are, in turn, inspiring our faculty and students to achieve their ambitions through higher education.”

Bill Underwood came to the university in 1957 on the G.I. Bill and enrolled as a freshman at the age of 25. He had already received technical training in jewelry and gemology from a trade school in Oklahoma, and earlier that year had started his own small jewelry business with $1,000 of borrowed money. He enrolled in the U of A business school to learn more about operating a successful small business.  He graduated from the university in 1961 and is currently the chair of Underwood’s Fine Jewelers in Fayetteville.

“I feel honored that we can contribute,” said Underwood. “The university was a significant part of my background. Everything I’ve accomplished is because of my time in the Walton College. We’re honored to know that our gift will impact students who are working their way through business school.”

Funding from the endowment will support the Underwood Faculty Fellow’s development and teaching of Walton College honors program colloquium courses around current, relevant and innovative business topics that will be attractive to all business disciplines. The faculty fellow will involve students in research activities with relevant applications to industry and enhance students’ ability to pursue graduate degrees in business disciplines. Finally, the endowment will also support the faculty fellow’s research activities and provide funding for the study and dissemination of findings regarding important topics related to the evolving global business environment.

“When I was in school, my professors knew I was struggling to get my business started,” said Underwood. “They helped me greatly by pointing out specific tactics and ideas in my courses that could be put to use immediately in my business.”

During the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, the Underwoods contributed $200,000 to faculty support in Walton College, and the Bill and LeAnn Underwood Family Honors Lab was named in their honor.

 “This gift and Bill and LeAnn’s generous support for the honors program in the past demonstrate their passion for students. We are grateful that they have chosen to invest in the program once again,” Walton Dean Eli Jones said. “This not only supports a faculty member who will develop and teach honors colloquium courses but will enable more honors students to engage in research alongside Walton faculty so that they will be ready to have an immediate impact in their careers in business or be prepared for further study in graduate school.”

LeAnn Underwood is also a graduate of the University of Arkansas and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. The Underwoods are life members of the Arkansas Alumni Association and are recognized in the Towers of Old Main, a giving society for the university’s most generous benefactors.