FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Two alumni of the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business, Pamela and Robert "Bobby" Nichols of Shreveport, La., have pledged $240,000 to fund an endowed Honors College scholarship for the Walton College.

The gift was matched by the funds from the university’s Matching Gift Program to create a total endowed scholarship fund of $480,000.

"The Pam and Bobby Nichols Endowed Honors College Scholarship will be used to attract students who have demonstrated high academic talent to the Walton College," said Dean Dan L. Worrell. "We are very grateful to the Nicholses for providing this scholarship, which will have a lasting impact on our ability to attract and retain outstanding undergraduate students to the college. It is heartwarming that Pam and Bobby, both Walton College graduates, have honored their alma mater with such generous scholarship support."

Bobby Nichols said: "Pam and I both have very fond memories of our years at the University of Arkansas, as well as a deep appreciation for the quality of education that we both received. Our education, along with the motivation and mentoring from educators and coaches that our lives came in contact with has played a large role in our business successes. We are proud to be a part of contributing to the continued success of the honors program at the Walton College."

Both Bobby and Pam Nichols graduated from the Walton College in 1972 with a bachelor of science in business administration. Bobby is president and Pam is treasurer of Eagle Distributing of Shreveport, a wholesale distributor for Anheuser-Busch. Noted for obtaining the first Coors distributorship in Little Rock, the couple previously owned Nichols Distributing in Texarkana, Texas.

While attending the University of Arkansas, Bobby Nichols was a Razorback football letterman, playing on the championship team against the University of Texas in 1969. He is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Pam Nichols was a Razorback cheerleader in 1968-69 and 1969-70 and is a member of Chi Omega. She received the Outstanding Business Education Student of the Year Award from the Walton College in 1971.

The Nichols are A-Plus members of the Arkansas Alumni Association. They are active in the Shreveport community, serving as members of the Pacesetter Team on the United Way. Bobby Nichols serves on the board of directors of the Shreveport Regional Sports Authority, previous chairman of the Red Cross and currently serves as chairman of the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce. Pam has served twice as chairwoman of the Shreveport Regional Arts Council Christmas In the Sky fund-raiser and the immediate past-president for two terms of the board of directors of the Glen Retirement Center. Both are very active with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Shreveport. The couple has three daughters and a son, as well as four grandchildren.

This gift was pledged during the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, which recorded $1.046 billion in gifts and pledges designated toward student and faculty endowments, academic programs, capital improvements and University Libraries when it concluded June 30, 2005.