FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Although they have spent much of their lives in another state and at another university, Glenn and Daisy Pound of LaJolla, Calif., have not forgotten their Arkansas roots.

Because of those roots, which produced a three-generation family tradition at the University of Arkansas, the Pounds have set up a charitable remainder annuity trust of about $400,000 that will — when combined with a $1.6 million bequest from their living trust — endow $2 million for Chancellor’s Scholarships at the University.

The Pounds are excited about the direction Chancellor John A. White is taking in increasing academic scholarships and attracting highly talented students through the Chancellor’s Scholarships.

"We are happy to be in a position to help a small bit in the ascending status of the University of Arkansas," said Dr. Pound in establishing the trust.

White said, "The Pound Family Chancellor’s Scholarships will ensure that untold numbers of outstanding students in future generations will have the opportunity to study at the University of Arkansas. Such scholarships also will help the University emerge as a nationally competitive research institution."

A Depression-era sharecropper from Raymondville,Tenn., who wanted to be the biggest farmer in Texas, Dr. Pound changed his dreams and came to the University. He graduated cum laude in 1940 with a major in botany, chemistry and foreign languages.

That same year, Mrs. Pound, a native of Alma, Ark., received a bachelor’s degree of science in home economics at the University.

Their careers soon led them to the University of Wisconsin in Madison where Dr. Pound taught and then served as dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences from 1964 to 1979. In 1977, he served as acting chancellor of the University of Wisconsin. Upon his retirement, Dr. Pound was cited by numerous organizations for his outstanding work in the field of agriculture and related businesses and his embodiment of the spirit of the land-grant philosophy. He also served on the board of directors of Merck & Co.

Mrs. Pound taught school for a number of years and was active in many civic and volunteer organizations.

During their 33 years in Wisconsin, the family maintained their Arkansas roots. Mrs. Pound said their frequent trips to visit her mother in Alma always included a stop at the University. They would park their car on Arkansas Avenue and let their two children run up the sidewalk to see if they could find any names they recognized on Senior Walk.

When it came time for them to go to college, their children decided to add their names to the Senior Walk. Their son, Robert Pound of Rhinelander, Wis., graduated from the University in 1971. Their daughter, Elizabeth Pound Fickle of Fayetteville, earned a bachelor’s degree in 1975 and a master’s of education in 1977. Now the Pounds’ granddaughter, Jordan Fickle of Fayetteville, is attending the University.

That family tradition played a large part in the Pounds’ estate planning. "I said, 'Why not think of the University of Arkansas?’" Mrs. Pound explained.

Dr. Pound said, "Giving to the University just fit our family history and our family needs better than anything else. We both graduated from the University and found that it placed us in a very competitive position."

The Pounds hope their gift will help others find their career paths at the University ¾ and perhaps start a tradition for other families.

In the 1998-99 school year, the University provided 491 Chancellor’s Scholarships to incoming freshman with 80 percent of the recipients from Arkansas. The scholarships offer full support for tuition and fees plus room and board.

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