Mack McLarty Chosen as 2017 Johnson Fellow

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Mack McLarty is the Arkansas Alumni Association's 2017 Johnson Fellow.

University of Arkansas alumnus Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty III of Little Rock will visit the university campus April 20 as the Arkansas Alumni Association's 2017 Johnson Fellow.

The Johnson Fellows program is named for Dr. Jeff Johnson, B.A.'70, and his wife, Marcia. The Johnsons endowed the program in 2009 with the specific purpose of bringing esteemed alumni back to the University of Arkansas campus to engage and inspire students.

McLarty is chairman of McLarty Associates, an international strategic advisory firm he co-founded in 1998 following a distinguished record of business leadership and public service, including various roles advising three U.S. presidents: Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter. He is also chair of the McLarty Companies, a fourth-generation family transportation business. He served as the White House chief of staff for President Bill Clinton. He organized the successful 1994 Summit of the Americas in Miami, which ultimately led to his appointment as Special Envoy for the Americas in 1997. Prior to his government service, McLarty was chair and chief executive officer of Arkla and was appointed by President Bush to the National Petroleum Council and the Council on Environmental Quality.

McLarty is the recipient of the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Medal; the highest civilian honors of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela; and the Center for the Study of the Presidency Distinguished Service Award.

During his time at the University of Arkansas, McLarty became a member of Sigma Chi, was president of the Associated Student Government and was named a Senior Honor Citation recipient. He is a 1969 graduate of the university with a bachelor's degree in business administration. McLarty received the Citation of Distinguished Alumni award from the Arkansas Alumni Association in 1987. He was awarded an honorary law degree from the university in 2000. He was also inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2014.

He currently serves as a Senior International Fellow at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

McLarty is a member of the Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee and A+ Life member of the Arkansas Alumni Association. In 2014, he and his wife Donna founded the McLarty Global Fellowship Program, which was established to support international study for undergraduate and graduate students in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the Clinton School of Public Service. In 2006, they created the Donna C. and Thomas F. McLarty III Fellowship with a gift to the Center for the Study of the Presidency based in Washington, D.C. The fellowship allows students to attend workshops at the center twice a year. In 2002, they established the Thomas F. and Donna McLarty Endowed Study Abroad Scholarships Fund with a gift of $100,000 to create study abroad opportunities for students in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

For more information and to view past award recipients, visit www.arkansasalumni.org/johnsonfellows.