NEW DONALD W. REYNOLDS CENTER FOR ENTEPRISE DEVELOPMENT TO BE DEDICATED IN WEEK-LONG CELEBRATION, FEB. 5-12

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The University of Arkansas' Sam M. Walton College of Business Administration will host a week-long celebration Feb. 5-12 to dedicate the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development.

The Reynolds Center is the result of a $7.4 million gift from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation based in Las Vegas. Each day of the dedication week has been specifically designated to a particular program housed in the Reynolds Center.

Arkansas Business Hall of Fame: Launching the week of activities is the inaugural Arkansas Business Hall of Fame celebration on Friday, Feb. 5, in the Excelsior Hotel, Little Rock, with a reception at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m.

The first honorees for the Hall of Fame are William T. Dillard Sr. of Dillard's Inc.; Charles H. Murphy Jr. of Murphy Oil Corp.; Jackson T. Stephens of Stephens Inc., and the late Sam M. Walton of Wal-Mart Inc.

David Gergen, editor-at-large of U.S. News & World Report, will be the Keynote speaker for the evening.

The Hall of Fame will be housed in the grand atrium of the Reynolds Center.

Reynolds Center Dedication Ceremony: At 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 8, the Walton College will host the dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Reynolds Center. Slated to speak are Dr. John A. White, chancellor of the University of Arkansas; Fred Smith, chairman of the board of the Reynolds Foundation; Dr. Frank Oldham, chairman of the board of trustees for the University of Arkansas; Dr. B. Alan Sugg, president of the University of Arkansas, and Dr. Doyle Z. Williams, dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business Administration. The event will take place in the Reynolds Auditorium.

At 1:30 p.m. Monday, Fred Hochberg, deputy administrator of the Small Business Association in Washington, D.C., will give the keynote address, also in the Reynolds Auditorium.

Hochberg serves as second in command to SBA Administrator Aida Alvarez in managing the agency and in policy development and program supervision. As such he helps direct the delivery of a comprehensive set of financial and business development programs for America's entrepreneurs. With a portfolio of guaranteed business and disaster loans worth more than $45 billion, SBA is the nation's largest single financial backer of small business.

The UA Small Business Development Center is housed in the Reynolds Center and provides guidance to hundreds of individuals interested in developing and growing a small business.

Fifth Annual Business Forecast Luncheon: Bringing an audience of more than 500 people annually, the Business Forecast Luncheon on Friday, Feb. 12, will culminate the week-long dedication. The forecasters include Nariman Behravesh, chief international economist of Standard & Poors DRI; David W. Berson, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae, and Joseph LaFace, research administrator of the Office of Economic Analysis and Tax Research for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Mary Ann Greenwood, president of Greenwood & Associates, will be the moderator.

Sponsored by the Walton College's Center for Business and Economic Research (also housed in the Reynolds Center), the Business Forecast Luncheon will be held at the Springdale Holiday Inn, with registration beginning at 11 a.m. and the luncheon running from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Tickets are $30 per person, $15 per student and $270 per table of 10. To make a reservation, please contact the Center for Business and Economic Research at (479) 575-4151 or register on-line via the Business Forecast '99 Website.

Sponsors of the Forecast Luncheon include A.G. Edwards Offices of Northwest Arkansas, Arvest Bank Group, B & B Resources, Bank of Arkansas, NA, Bank of Pocahontas, First Financial Bank, First National Bank of Fort Smith, Greenwood & Associates Inc., Jodi & Dan Grubb, Llama Co., NationsBank, P.A.M. Transport Inc., StaffMark Inc., Stephens Inc., Tom Schallhorn, Southwest Capital Management Inc., Trent Trumbo and Russ Kelley of Merrill Lynch and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Other Activities: Throughout the week, programs are being offered for the clients who use the outreach services of the Reynolds Center.

On Monday, Feb. 8, First Steps to Small Business Ownership will be sponsored by the Small Business Development Center.

On Tuesday, Feb. 9, an open dialogue with students will be transmitted from Fayetteville to students at John Brown University and Henderson to highlight the Technology Center.

On Wednesday, Feb. 10, the Center for Management and Executive Development will host Leadership 2000: Tools for Growing a World Class Organization for its clients.

On Thursday, Feb. 11, K-12 teachers have been invited by the Bessie B. Moore Center for Economic Education for an all-day seminar and reception on the Economic Dimension of Arkansas History.

About the Reynolds Center: On June 28, 1996, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation announced a $7.4 million gift to construct and equip the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development. Completed in December 1998, the Reynolds Center is located next to the existing Business Administration Building and occupies 41,000 square feet.

The center is devoted to enterprise development in Arkansas and is designed to assist the College in achieving its strategic goal of contributing to the economic development of the state. Programs housed in the Reynolds Center are estimated to impact more than 3,000 students and citizens each year. Outreach programs housed in the center include the Center for Business and Economic Research, Center for Management and Executive Development, Support Arkansas Made, FastTrac, Bessie B. Moore Center for Economic Education and the Small Business Development Center.

Through state-of-the-art technology, the Reynolds Center will enable the Walton College to deliver programs throughout the state and region through distance education. Other features available to maximize industry use for job training and development include a 300 seat auditorium, classrooms and other multi-purpose areas, multimedia laboratories and training rooms.

About the Foundation: Donald W. Reynolds created the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in 1954 to provide grants to nonprofit civic, charitable, cultural, educational and health organizations. After Reynolds' death, the Foundation received from his estate a substantial bequest which positions it as one of the 30 largest independent foundations in the nation. Focus of the capital grants program has been narrowed to the three states in which Reynolds had the greatest interest, Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma.

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