Lauck Funds Access Arkansas Scholarship in the Walton College

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — J. Stephen Lauck (B.S.B.A., 1967) of San Francisco gave $50,000 to the Sam M. Walton College of Business to fund an Access Arkansas scholarship at the University of Arkansas.

After graduating from high school in North Little Rock, Lauck earned some scholarship money to attend the University of Arkansas but had to work through college to help pay for the leftover costs. “I can identify with students who struggle to get the necessary funds to finish school,” he said. “I’m now in a position to help out, and I want to make a difference for those deserving students who might be on the fence and barely able to hang on. Maybe my gift will help to keep someone in school and earn a degree.”

Lauck has very strong ties to the university and has reconnected with the Walton College by serving on the Dean’s Advisory Board. He visits campus at least twice a year. “My involvement with the Walton College helped me to become better informed about the reasons students drop out of college,” he said. “Many students are caught between being at the top of their class and wondering how they are going to pay for the next semester.”

J. Stephen Lauck, serves as president, chief executive officer and portfolio manager/analyst of Ashfield Capital Partners LLC in San Francisco. He holds the chartered financial analyst designation. Prior to 2007, he served as president, CEO and portfolio manager/analyst of Ashfield & Co. Inc., the company that later became Ashfield Capital Partners LLC. Before joining Ashfield & Co. Inc. in 1984, he was the vice president at BA Investment Management in San Francisco after serving as head of Bank of America’s Capital Counseling Services in Los Angeles. From 1967 to 1969, Lauck served as an officer in the United States Navy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.

Lauck is married to K.C., whom he met in California while he was in graduate school at the University of Southern California and she had recently graduated from the same institution. They have two children: Caroline, 26, is a teacher in California and Ted, 23, works in the film and music industry in Dallas.

“I greatly appreciate Mr. Lauck’s involvement with the Walton College and his dedication to the university and our students,” said Dan Worrell, dean of the Walton College. “He has a personal connection to the Access Arkansas initiative, and he understands the challenges many of our students face. This gift will open new doors and create new opportunities for students who need help fulfilling the financial obligations of earning a degree.”

Last year the University of Arkansas launched Access Arkansas, a program committed to raising money for need-based scholarship support, particularly for undergraduate students. The program was approved in the fall of 2006 by the university's Board of Advisors, an organization that helps guide the institution's advancement and fundraising efforts. The overall goal for the program is $15 million over five years.