UA BLACK ALUMNI SOCIETY MEMBERS PLEDGE OVER $85,000 TO ENDOW SCHOLARSHIPS FOR MINORITY STUDENTS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A group from the University of Arkansas Black Alumni Society (BAS) has pledged over $85,000 for an endowment for scholarships for minority students.

Dr. and Mrs. Carl Johnson of Little Rock have pledged $25,000 for the Dr. Carl and Peggy Johnson Family Scholarship. Carl Johnson graduated from the U of A in 1981 with a B.S. in zoology and has an M.D. from UAMS. The Johnson Family Scholarship will be awarded to an incoming freshman in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences with a preference given to a student from the delta region of Arkansas.

Gene E. McKissic, an attorney with Cross, Kearney and McKissic of Pine Bluff, Ark., has pledged $25,000 for the Gene E. McKissic Endowed Scholarship. He was the first black president of the UA Associated Student Government. McKissic graduated from Fulbright College in 1974 in political science and received his law degree from the UA School of Law in 1976. He has served on the Arkansas Alumni Association board of directors and was a contributor to the Old Main renovation fund and the new Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House.

The recipient of the McKissic Scholarship will be a returning student in Fulbright College with a major in history or political science. The recipient also must demonstrate leadership in student government or community service.

The parents of the late Rodney Momon, Robert and Alberta Momon of Ivan, led a grassroots effort to raise money for a scholarship in memory of their son. Momon graduated from the U of A in 1992 with a B.S.E. in industrial engineering. After serving in the military, he was to return to the UA School of Law, but he died of cancer in September 1997. He had set up a gift in his will of $10,000 to the university. His parents wanted to make this an endowment and worked successfully to increase the total to $20,000.

Gordon Morgan, UA professor of sociology, has given $15,000 for the Gordon Morgan Family Scholarship. He graduated from Arkansas AM&N in 1953 with a B.A. and received an M.A. from the U of A in 1956. He holds a Ph.D. from Washington State University and began teaching at the U of A in 1969. Morgan serves on the BAS committee. His scholarship will be given every other year to a student at the U of A in Fayetteville and rotate in the opposing year to a student at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

Lonnie Williams, UA assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and founder of the BAS, said, "Not only is having these scholarships available to minority students extremely important, but they also have served to stimulate new interest by the black alumni in the university. These alumni have shown a great willingness to help students along the way."

Williams works hard to keep UA African-American alumni close to the university. He organized the first Black Alumni Reunion in 1990, and three more have been held subsequently.

UA Chancellor John White said, "The members of the Black Alumni Society have, once again, stepped forward in a significant way to benefit the University of Arkansas. We are grateful to them. They are doing so much to help us attract outstanding students to the university and to assist us in achieving our goal of increasing diversity in the student body."

Initially, the Black Alumni Society embarked upon a campaign to raise $100,000 for an endowment to create scholarships for African-American and other under-represented students on the UA campus. Chancellor White pledged another $100,000, matching the first $100,000 raised in that initial effort. With these announced pledges, the BAS Scholarship Fund surpassed its goal. The Black Alumni Scholarship program has proven successful in its intended purpose to provide much-needed and meaningful financial aid to deserving students. Their efforts over the past few years have resulted in 10 students receiving BAS scholarships.

Jackie McMorris, associate director for Arkansas Alumni Association, said, "We are thrilled with the effort thus far to meet the Chancellor’s challenge by April 2000 for BAS scholarships. The 10-year plan is to create a $1 million endowed scholarship for minority students. Our purpose is to help minority students who find it difficult to get funds to attend the university."

The UA Black Alumni Society was founded in 1998 by alumni and friends of the University and is a part of the Arkansas Alumni Association. Judge Wendell L. Griffin, ’73, ’79 J.D., of Little Rock, is chair. He recently received the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences 1999-2000 Distinguished Alumni Award.

The BAS works to promote communication and friendship among black alumni, faculty and friends of the University of Arkansas by providing a forum for information exchange through organized events and other activities. The group increased its membership 33.4 percent over the previous year. The next BAS reunion will be held April 7-9, 2000.

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