FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Two prominent native Arkansans — businessman and philanthropist Don Tyson and educator Isaac Crumbly — will receive honorary degrees from the University of Arkansas and speak at the All-University Commencement on Saturday, May 8.

 Don Tyson of Springdale built Tyson Foods Inc. into the largest protein producer in the country and has donated millions of dollars to a broad range of educational and other causes; Isaac Crumbly, a Widener native, is associate vice president for career and collaborative programs at Fort Valley State University, Ga., where he created innovative training and development programs that opened the way for thousands of minority and female students to enter the energy industry.

“The University of Arkansas is proud to recognize these two dynamic and remarkable native Arkansans,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “Both men have risen to the top of their professions by applying their unique, innovative visions, and both have reached beyond their professions to help improve the lives of thousands of people.”

Don Tyson will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, and Isaac Crumbly will receive an honorary Doctorate of Science.

Donald John “Don” Tyson

Don Tyson got his first hands-on experience in the poultry industry at a young age, working for his father’s business, Tyson’s Feed and Hatchery, in Springdale. By the age of 14 he was running a chicken catching crew and he later drove a truck for the company. In 1952 he left his studies at the University of Arkansas to help his father compete with the other 19 poultry companies that had sprung up in Springdale. He became head of operations for the business when he was 22 and over the next 14 years he pushed to achieve complete vertical integration of the company, from egg to processed chicken to distribution. Tyson was plant manager for the company’s first processing plant in Springdale. He and his father pursued an aggressive acquisition policy to keep the business growing and took the company public in 1963. Tyson was named company president in 1966. He was a strong proponent of the marketing strategy he described as “segment, concentrate and dominate,” and was among the first in the poultry industry to recognize the importance of “branding.” He wanted his customers to know they weren’t just buying chicken: they were buying “Tyson’s Country Fresh Chicken.”

Tyson became chief executive officer and chairman of the board in 1967. He continued making new acquisitions, diversifying the business by adding beef and pork to the company’s products, building this Springdale business into an international force. Under his leadership Tyson Foods has become a Fortune 100 company and the world’s largest meat producer. He continues to serve on the company’s board of directors.

Tyson’s business success earned him international recognition, but he always remained true to his Arkansas origins. He was known for combining a down-to-earth approach with a true sense of exuberance, and he shared his success with the same enthusiasm that he has lived his life. He is a regular contributor to a wide range of nonprofit agencies in Springdale, northwest Arkansas and the state. He encouraged his company’s partnerships with Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest) and Share Our Strength, resulting in donations of more than 70 million pounds of chicken, beef and pork to food banks and pantries across the country.. His donations to the University of Arkansas personally, as well as through the Tyson Family Foundation and Tyson Foods Inc., have helped preserve the University of Arkansas Press, established endowed professorships and scholarships, helped rebuild the Sigma Nu fraternity house, supported the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science and enabled construction of the John W. Tyson Building that houses the center. He served on the steering committee for the university’s Campaign for the Twenty-First Century and as the campaign was winding down Tyson gifts totaling $20.1 million pushed the total amount raised in the campaign past the goal of $1 billion.

Lalit Verma, interim dean of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, said these gifts are as distinctive as the style of the man who gave them.

“I have discovered that Don Tyson is a humble benefactor who does not seek recognition,” said Verma. “He seeks simply to enrich and enhance the lives of others.”

Isaac Crumbly

Isaac “Ike” Crumbly was a biology professor at Georgia’s Fort Valley State University in 1983 when he decided to take on a challenge: the Office of Minority Economic Impact in the U.S. Department of Energy wanted to fund new education programs to increase the number of women and minorities working in the energy industry.

There was nothing easy about this task and there were no templates to follow. Fort Valley State is a historically black land grant university, and Crumbly knew that few, if any, students there were considering a career in energy. For that matter, few, if any, energy companies were recruiting students from Fort Valley State University. He was starting at square one.

The Widener native responded by creating the Cooperative Developmental Energy Program. It started small: With Energy Department funding, Crumbly organized a seminar on campus called “Traditional and Nontraditional Forms of Energy” and persuaded representatives from nearby companies to teach students about the various segments of the energy industry. The seminar built connections Crumbly used to organize an internship-recruiting event called Energy Career Day. The students recruited as interns performed well, and the next year the recruiters were back.

This success led to another challenge: establishing a unique niche in the energy industry at a university that didn’t offer degree programs in engineering, geology, geophysics or health physics. Crumbly’s solution was to develop dual degree programs with universities that offered these degrees. The original schools were the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and University of Oklahoma, followed by Georgia Tech, the University of Texas-Austin, University of Texas- Pan American and Penn State University; earlier this year the University of Arkansas established a similar program with Fort Valley State University.

The next challenge was to develop an early-outreach program for pre-college students to prepare them for college level math and science courses. Crumbly created the Math, Science and Engineering Academy at Fort Valley State to identify and recruit young women and minority high school students. Starting in the eighth grade, these students attend summer camps at Fort Valley State and partnering universities, building their math and science skills while learning about the energy industry. The program and its elements have since become models for other schools, including the University of Texas.

Since 1983, the Cooperative Development Energy Program has placed some 850 student interns into the energy industry and the program boasts 70 engineers, 24 geoscientists and four health physicists among its graduates, working for major energy companies and government agencies. Crumbly is credited with bringing in more than $28 million in grants, scholarships and internships from both public and private sources.

“I am thankful and blessed for having the opportunity to impact the lives of students for 40 plus years,” said Crumbly.

For his innovative work Crumbly has received numerous awards, including a letter of commendation from President Ronald Reagan for exemplary achievements as an educator, researcher and role model; the U.S. Department of Energy Award for Energy Innovation; the National Society of Black Engineers’ “Golden Torch Award” for Lifetime Achievement in Academia; and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Special Award for leadership. This last group also endowed scholarships in Crumbly’s name for minority students seeking careers in the energy industry.

“Dr. Crumbly’s vision has made Fort Valley State a gateway to a career in the energy industry,” said Stephen Boss, director of the environmental dynamics program at the University of Arkansas. “His exceptional skill at recognizing, mentoring and inspiring talented young people has improved the lives of thousands of African American students.”

He has a Bachelor of Science degree in horticulture from Arkansas A.M. & N. College, now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff; a Master of Science degree in horticulture from the University of Illinois; and a doctoral degree in botany from North Dakota State University.

He and his wife Dorothy have three adult children and five grandchildren.