FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Dr. Benjamin Hooks, former executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), will be the keynote speaker for the announcement of the recipient of the first Wal-Mart Legal Diversity Scholarship at the University of Arkansas School of Law at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at the University House on the University of Arkansas campus.

Richard Atkinson, dean of the School of Law, and Thomas Mars, senior vice president and general counsel, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., will also be featured speakers at the event along with Hooks.

An attorney and a clergyman, Hooks was the executive director of the NAACP from 1977 until 1992. He is currently serving as a distinguished adjunct professor at the University of Memphis in the political science department.  He is also a member of the American Bar Association, National Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Tennessee Council on Human Relations.

The scholarship was established to promote diversity within the legal community by providing needed financial aid to deserving law students of diverse backgrounds.

“Wal-Mart is proud of its commitment to diversity and the many diversity initiatives the company sponsors and supports in this community and throughout the nation,” Mars said. “The Wal-Mart legal department has embraced this commitment and is pleased to support the Law School by establishing this important new scholarship.”

"This wonderful gift unites two of the great strengths of the Law School: our commitment to diversity and our close relationship with the Wal-Mart legal department,” Atkinson added. “The synergy thus created and, of course, the scholarships themselves are assets with the potential for powerfully furthering the mission of the Law School."

 Wal-Mart will give the $4,000 renewable scholarship to an incoming first-year law student each year until completion of the student’s third year of law school. Scholarship recipients must always be in good standing with the School of Law and must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 2.75 or higher.

The selection of the scholarship recipients will be made by the School of Law’s Scholarship Committee with the 2004-2005 winner to be recognized at the April 21 event.

The event is open to the public with a reception following.  Members of the media are invited to attend.