FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Panamanian students in need of financial assistance can now turn to a newly established fund for support. Mario Martinelli, vice president of Importadora Ricamar, S.A., in Panama, has contributed $100,000 to establish the Mario Martinelli Educational Assistance Fund at the University of Arkansas.

“We very much appreciate our friendship with the Martinelli family and the wonderful relationship we have with the Republic of Panama,” said Chris Wyrick, vice chancellor for university advancement. “The ties between us are strengthened every time another student enrolls at the University of Arkansas, and we are grateful that this fund will help us retain these students and offer them an enriched educational experience.”

The Mario Martinelli Educational Assistance Fund will offer financial assistance to students from the Republic of Panama who are pursuing higher education at the university. The fund will help Panamanian students stay in school when they encounter sudden personal emergencies that significantly change their financial situation and will support Panamanian students’ educational opportunities by supplementing study abroad travel, service learning and research.

Dan Hendrix, associate vice chancellor and honorary consul of Panama, said Martinelli “wanted the Panamanian students to have the same opportunities and advantages he had while a student at the university, which is why he established this fund.”

Martinelli is a 1974 graduate of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in finance and real estate. He is a member of the Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee, the University of Arkansas Chancellor’s Society and a life member of the Arkansas Alumni Association.