Gift Supports School of Architecture, Band

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Don and Ellen Edmondson of Forrest City have pledged $500,000 to the University of Arkansas that will fund international travel for School of Architecture students, support the School’s botanical garden in Hot Springs, Ark. and provide scholarships for members of the Razorback and University bands.

UA Chancellor John A. White said: “We are grateful to Don and Ellen Edmondson for their continued philanthropy to the University of Arkansas and leadership in the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. Their support of the School of Architecture, the Razorback band, and Garvan Woodland Gardens reflects their sincere interest in making a lasting impact on the future of our university while finding unique ways to honor individuals.”

In 1999, the Edmondsons established the E. Fay Jones Endowed Chair in the School of Architecture.

Dean Jeff Shannon of the School of Architecture said, “Don and Ellen Edmondson have been true benefactors and friends to the School of Architecture. They have shared their time and energy, opened their Fay Jones-designed home for meetings and parties, and generously supported key aspects of our program.”

Both gifts have expanded students’ educational experience, Shannon said: “The endowed chair brings nationally recognized architecture professionals to Fayetteville, and this new endowment makes it more affordable for our students to see the world.”

The Edmondsons’ Charitable Remainder Trust will fund the Maurice Jennings International Experience Honors Endowment in the amount of $375,000, which will be matched by funds from the Matching Gift Program. The endowment honors Fayetteville architect Maurice Jennings, a 1973 graduate of the School of Architecture who worked with Fay Jones for 25 years and became Jones’ only partner in 1986. Jennings is a long-time friend of the Edmondsons and assisted Fay Jones in the design of their Forrest City home. The Maurice Jennings International Experience Honors Endowment will support international travel for landscape architecture and architecture honors students.

A non-endowed fund of $100,000 will benefit garden projects at the School of Architecture’s Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs. In recognition of this gift, the School of Architecture and Gardens staff surprised Ellen Edmondson by naming the Great Lawn in her honor. Gardens’ staff members felt that the quarter-acre expanse of velvet grass, bordered by European trees and shrubs, flowering perennials and rotating displays of 50 varieties of flowers, would make a fitting tribute to Ellen Edmondson, who is an avid gardener.

“The Ellen Edmondson Great Lawn is a wonderful gateway into the garden, extending from the Welcome Center to the pavilion designed by the Edmondsons’ close friends Fay Jones and Maurice Jennings,” said Charlotte Taylor, director of development at the School of Architecture.

The charitable trust also funds a $25,000 endowment that will establish the Lewis E. Epley Jr. Endowment Band Scholarship. The scholarship honors Epley, a UA alumnus, former UA Board of Trustees member, attorney and businessman from Eureka Springs, Ark. Epley chairs the Razorback Band Campaign Committee. The scholarship will be used to recruit or retain outstanding musicians for the band.

“We’ve been friends with Maurice and Sissy Jennings for 30 years, and we wanted to honor Maurice’s contributions to the School of Architecture and to the profession,” Don Edmondson said. “We’re also very pleased to have the Great Lawn named in Ellen’s honor, especially since the lawn overlooks the pavilion designed by Fay Jones and Maurice Jennings. Finally, Lewis Epley has been an inspiration to me, and we wanted to recognize his contributions to the Razorback band program with this scholarship.”

A 1958 graduate from the UA College of Business, Don Edmondson is chair of the School of Architecture Campaign Committee and also serves on the University of Arkansas Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Committee. Don Edmondson is retired from directing franchise businesses, which included Kentucky Fried Chicken, a Holiday Inn and Taco Bell. The Edmondsons have a daughter, Jennifer Edmondson.

The Campaign for the Twenty-First Century total stands at $930.5 million as of April 30, 2005.