FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Ron and Casondra LeMay of Kansas City, Missouri, are contributing $100,000 to create an endowed fund within the School of Law at the University of Arkansas.

The fund will support teaching, research, programs and scholarships designed to prepare the next generation of lawyers to meet the needs of businesses and entrepreneurs, and for lawyers to become entrepreneurs themselves.

An expert at creating new opportunities, LeMay is an Arkansas native who has spent more than 40 years building businesses as an entrepreneur, corporate executive and venture capitalist. As co-founder and managing director of Kansas City-based OpenAir Equity Partners, he seeks out emerging technology companies and guides the growth of those businesses. It was through this work that he found one crucial aspect of business development lacking – legal expertise.

“There aren’t a lot of attorneys who really understand the specific legal issues faced by many tech companies who are just starting out or who are really beginning to grow and expand their businesses,” LeMay said.

Sensing another opportunity, LeMay and his wife created the Ron and Casondra LeMay Endowment for Entrepreneurial Law with a $100,000 gift to the University of Arkansas School of Law.

 “Ron LeMay has been a great supporter and friend to the School of Law for many years,” said Stacy Leeds, dean of the School of Law. “The generous support he and Casondra have provided will allow us to expand our business and entrepreneurial law offerings to better prepare our students for future success.” 

LeMay is a 1972 graduate of the School of Law and a member of the Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee, as well as the law school’s campaign committee. He and his wife are recognized as part of the Towers of Old Main, a giving society for the university’s most generous benefactors, having donated $500,000 in technology to the School of Law during the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century.

In addition to his position with OpenAir Equity Partners, LeMay serves as chair and chief executive of FarmLink. Prior to founding OpenAir, he served as president and chief operating officer of Sprint and held senior leadership roles with AT&T and Southwestern Bell. He was instrumental in the formation of GoGo Inflight Internet Services. LeMay is also a board member for Allstate, eRecyclingCorps and MachineryLink. He and his wife are members of the Arkansas Alumni Association and have three children and six grandchildren.