FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Alumnus George W. Edwards Jr. and his wife Charlene of Eatonton, Ga., have made a $500,000 gift to the Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, to help both undergraduates and graduates find jobs.

The Edwards have made a pledge toward the construction of Willard J. Walker Hall, the college’s graduate education building. The George W. Edwards Jr. Career Center Suite will be named in honor of their gift. Corporate recruiters will visit the center to interview students who will frequent the area to develop resumes and interview skills.

George Edwards graduated from the Walton College in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and has led an illustrious career in the utility and railroad industries. As chairman of United Illuminating Co. (UI), New Haven, Conn., in 1991, he was instrumental in resolving the two-decade-long controversy over the Seabrook Nuclear Generating Station in New Hampshire and securing an operating license for the plant. Edwards is currently chairman of the board of the El Paso Electric Co. of El Paso, Texas, and a director for Hubbell Inc. of Orange, Conn.

Walton College Dean Doyle Z. Williams said, “We are very grateful to the Edwards for their support of this important building. The new Career Development suite will help our students interact with prospective employers in a professional environment. Walker Hall is going to help the college advance and become more nationally competitive in graduate business education as it has become at the undergraduate level.”

In April 2003, the Walton College announced plans for a new graduate education building to be constructed northeast of the business building. The building will be named for the late Willard Walker, in honor of his success in retail management with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. At the time, the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation pledged $8 million for the construction of the building. The building will showcase technology-enhanced teaching classrooms and student learning spaces, student team rooms, project rooms for industry partnering, a financial markets trading room and two research centers. The excavation for the building is scheduled for spring 2005, and construction will begin in the summer. Walker Hall is being designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates Inc. of Boston and Allison Architects Inc. of Little Rock.

George Edwards received the Walton College’s 2004 Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award for his long-term success and business acumen in leading several utility companies and a railroad. In 1994, the University of Arkansas Alumni Association gave him the Distinguished Alumni Award.

He served as president and CEO of the Kansas City Southern Railway and as executive vice president and member of the board of Kansas City Southern Industries in Kansas City, Mo., from 1991 until 1995. From 1985 to 1991, he was chairman of the board of United Illuminating Co. (UI), New Haven, Conn. He joined Georgia Power Co., Atlanta, Ga., in 1969, holding various management and executive positions. He was appointed executive vice president and to the board of directors from 1981 to 1985. 

He has also served as chairman of the board of Aquarion Co., Bridgeport, Conn., and on the boards of directors of Peoples Bank, Bridgeport, Conn.; Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Connecticut; and Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Conn.

As a major in the Army from 1961 to 1969, Edwards received three Bronze Stars, two Army Commendation Medals and an Air Medal for service in Vietnam and Germany. He completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program in 1978 and the Brookings Institute Advanced Management Program in 1980.

The Edwards’ gift counts toward the campaign-within-a-campaign to raise $300 million for academic purposes to match the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation’s $300 million gift. The $300 Million Challenge must raise funds between Jan. 1, 2002, and June 30, 2005, the end of the Campaign. The Challenge total stands at $259 million, and the overall Campaign total stands at $889 million as of Feb. 28, 2005.