Hefleys Endow Professorship in Engineering

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – James M. and Marie G. Hefley have made a $750,000 commitment through a charitable remainder trust to fund an endowed professorship and eventually an endowed chair in the University of Arkansas College of Engineering. The Hefleys’ gift will be matched by $750,000 from funds available through the Matching Gift Program to create a $1.5 million endowment for the professorship.

The purpose of the Hefley Professorship in Engineering Entrepreneurship and Logistics will be to attract and retain a highly qualified professor and prominent scholar who will provide academic leadership in entrepreneurship and logistics in the Department of Industrial Engineering. Funds will provide the holder with the resources to further his or her contributions to teaching, research and public service.

Mr. Hefley said: “One of the key factors in focusing on the link between entrepreneurship and engineering is our belief based on our experience in business that a great many of the new jobs created in the U.S. — as well as overall economic growth — will come from new start-up businesses rather than from large corporations as it has in the past. I feel that IE graduates are especially well positioned to become entrepreneurs in this new environment, and to be able to partner effectively with colleagues in marketing, finance and law  to form start-up “business teams’ to be able to commercialize technical innovation. We believe this professorship and chair will lead the way in providing students in the College of Engineering with far better academic preparation to succeed in this technically oriented, start-up business environment of the future. We also feel this emphasis is strongly in concert with the spirit of the Matching Gift Program relative to economic enhancement in the State. We also want to thank the Walton family for their generosity, which will allow our gift to have a much larger impact.”

UA Chancellor John A. White said: “The ability to attract and retain high-caliber faculty to the University of Arkansas depends on the generosity of people like Jim and Marie Hefley. Their commitment to the future of the College of Engineeering will go a long way toward ensuring we have the funds necessary to remain nationally competitive. I’m personally grateful for Jim’s friendship, leadership and support. I am always pleased when the University receives financial support from our alumni, but I am particularly gratified when it comes from someone who was both a classmate and a friend during our college years.”

College Dean Ashok Saxena said: “We are indebted to the Hefleys for their support of College of Engineering. The endowed professorship they have established will be a valuable tool for us in recruiting and retaining the best industrial engineering faculty and supporting their efforts in cutting-edge areas of research. These accomplished faculty will in-turn attract the best students bringing us closer to realizing our goal of being a top-tier engineering college.”

The Matching Gift Program, made possible by the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation’s $300 million gift to the University of Arkansas, set aside matching funds for certain student endowments and faculty endowments that show promise for enhancing economic competitiveness in Arkansas. Charitable remainder trusts, insurance gifts and other forms of irrevocable planned gifts may be eligible for gift matching thus giving the benefactors an opportunity to significantly leverage their gifts with an immediate benefit. As the endowment for this professorship grows, it will eventually be converted into an endowed chair.

Mr. Hefley is a 1961 B.S.I.E. graduate of the College of Engineering and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After a career in business management, he joined Gemini Consulting, becoming senior vice president, and is currently a retired partner of the same firm. Mrs. Hefley is a graduate of the College of St. Elizabeth, and is retired after a management career in IBM.