FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.— Julian and Nana Stewart of San Antonio, Texas—he a native of Fayetteville, she a native of El Dorado—are making gifts valued at more than $2 million for student scholarships at the University of Arkansas.

"What the Stewarts are doing, through a gift made now and through others that will come later from their retirement accounts, is to guarantee a college education to generations of talented students for as long as there is a University of Arkansas," said Chancellor John A. White.

"All of us at the University are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Stewart for the truly spectacular opportunities they are creating for our students," White added. "We hope the example they’ve set will motivate others to make similar investments. Private gift support is essential for the University of Arkansas to be counted among the nation’s best academic institutions."

Their first gift of $160,000 endows a new Chancellor's Scholarship to be named in memory of Mr. Stewart's mother, Elizabeth Phillips Stewart, a long-time dietitian for the University's infirmary who retired in 1962 and died earlier this year.

The gift has been made with appreciated securities and cash, and will provide about $8,000 per year in perpetuity from investment earnings on the principal. The current recipient of the Elizabeth Phillips Stewart Memorial Chancellor's Scholarship is Brian J. Sepko, a freshman electrical engineering major from San Antonio, Texas.

The other, larger gifts will occur after the Stewarts' deaths and be made from their IRA and Keogh retirement plans. These funds will establish an endowment for the Julian and Nana Bachtel Stewart Fellowships for academically talented undergraduates. Stewart Fellows—who must be National Merit finalists or semifinalists with an ACT score of 32 or higher—will receive up to $44,000 for four years of study or $55,000 if pursuing a five-year degree program. Preference will be given to graduates of Fayetteville High School and El Dorado High School.

In addition, the Stewarts have directed that two additional scholarships be created: an Arkansas Alumni Association Scholarship endowed at $120,000 in memory of

Mr. Stewart's brother, Jerry K. Stewart, a 1959 alumnus and former assistant director of housing for the University; and an athletic scholarship endowed at $120,000 for the Razorback Foundation.

"Nana and I have long wanted to do something of significance for the University of Arkansas, our alma mater," said Mr. Stewart. "This planned gift allows us to make the greatest impact with our money. By reducing the tax burden on our estate, it allows us to maximize the funds that will go to help deserving students. And by establishing endowments, we know it will be available forever.

"Our interest in and love for the University of Arkansas motivate us to provide this support. I was born and raised in Fayetteville, and the campus was my playground as a boy. I remember so many wonderful people at the University, including my favorite engineering professors Loren Heiple and James Bissett. Nana and I met and fell in love at the University, and of course my mother and brother had their careers here. Two other brothers also attended the University.

"Nana and I are intensely interested in seeing the University thrive in the years ahead, and we are greatly excited by Chancellor White's agenda for strengthening academics at the University," Stewart added. "We want to help him do what is right for Arkansas."

Mr. Stewart is a 1957 alumnus with a bachelor of science in civil engineering and membership in Sigma Nu fraternity. He worked as an engineer for United Gas Corporation from 1957-65; as a sales and marketing executive for IBM from 1965-87; and in contract work for Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. from 1987-92.

Mrs. Stewart graduated from the University in 1958 with a bachelor of science in education and membership in Chi Omega sorority. She taught first grade in Arkansas and the state of Washington from 1958-60. Since then she has been a homemaker, raising a son and daughter, both of whom are residents of Texas.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Stewart have been active for many years in oil, gas, and timber production, real estate development and other investments, with business interests in Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. Mr. Stewart is a member of the University’s National Development Council.

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