FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sherece West-Scantlebury, president and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, will be the guest speaker for the University of Arkansas All-University Commencement ceremony, which begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 12, in Bud Walton Arena.

The university will also confer an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree on novelist Charles Portis and honorary Doctor of Art and Humane Letters degrees on philanthropists Wallace and Jama Fowler.

“It is a pleasure to be able to honor people who have done so much for the state of Arkansas,” said Chancellor Joe Steinmetz. “Sherece West-Scantlebury and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation are a force for positive change in this state, but Sherece also has her own story to share that I’m sure will inspire our students and graduates.

“Charles Portis and Wallace and Jama Fowler are very worthy honorary degree recipients.

“If you love to read, and love Arkansas, you have to treasure the work of Charles Portis, a U of A graduate and author and one of Arkansas’ finest writers.

“Wallace and Jama Fowler built businesses, created jobs and helped finance growth in our state – but more than that, they generously shared their success with this institution and many others.”

The honorary degree recipients are recommended by the faculty to the chancellor and conferred by the Board of Trustees.  An advisory committee recommends the commencement speaker.

Sherece West-Scantlebury

Sherece West-Scantlebury has served for 10 years as president and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, a private, independent foundation whose mission is to improve the lives of all Arkansans in three interrelated areas: economic development; education; and economic, racial and social justice.

West-Scantlebury grew up in inner-city Baltimore and is the first in her family to attend college. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Bowie State University in Maryland; a master’s degree in public policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and a doctorate in public policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Her professional career includes nearly 30 years of experience in community development, public policy and advocacy, and public service. She has a 25-year career in philanthropy, including work with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and service as CEO of the Foundation for Louisiana before joining the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. She has said her life experience drives her passion for work, such as philanthropy, that makes a meaningful difference and supports communities to thrive.

“Philanthropy chose me, for which I am grateful, because I did not have professional goals,” she said. “I have a mission and vision to use my time, talent and treasure to transform vulnerable communities into healthy, vibrant communities. I am willing to do that in any capacity. Philanthropy is my current path.”

Under West-Scantlebury’s leadership the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation has invested over $40 million in Arkansas and its communities, including the University of Arkansas.

“The University of Arkansas’ eight guiding priorities are in full alignment with the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation’s mission and my own vision and service to Arkansas,” she said.

West-Scantlebury’s work has been recognized with a variety of honors including the 2013 Woman of Influence Award from the Arkansas Business Journal; the 2015 Humanitarian Award from Just Communities of Arkansas; and the 2017-2018 Rockwood Leadership Institute's “National Leading from the Inside Out Yearlong Fellowship.”

Wallace and Jama Fowler

Wallace and Jama Fowler have used their successful partnership to improve Arkansas communities and support the University of Arkansas, Arkansas State University, their hometown of Jonesboro and people in need across Arkansas.

The couple started out in separate parts of the state: Wallace Fowler grew up in Manila, in northeast Arkansas, the son of the local school superintendent; Jama Massey was born in Amity, in the southwest part of the state, and her father was in the timber business. They were introduced while Wallace was serving in the Army and stationed in Fort Smith. His brother suggested he meet Jama Massey. Fowler ranks it as the best advice he’s ever gotten.

The couple married in 1955 and have remained partners in life, family, business and community service. They have three sons, 12 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

Wallace Fowler built three successful business careers – in retail furniture, fast food franchises and banking – each career based in Jonesboro, each more successful than the last and each with Jama very much involved. They capped these careers off by launching the Bank of Jonesboro, then growing and expanding it into the statewide Liberty Bank system.

Fowler has said his success is the result of hiring the right people and having good partners – especially Jama.

The Fowlers made time for public service throughout their lives, Wallace serving on state and city commissions, Jama’s concern for public health issues leading to creation of the Wallace and Jama Fowler Charitable Foundation to support hospitals and health care facilities. 

The Fowler’s other philanthropic efforts include a $5 million gift to Arkansas State University to complete the Fowler Center for the performing arts and a $5 million gift to the NEA Baptist Charitable Foundation to complete the Fowler Family Center for Cancer Care. They both served on the University of Arkansas Campaign for the Twenty-First Century steering committee, and they hold similar positions in Campaign Arkansas. They have donated a total of $4.68 million toward construction of the U of A chancellor’s residence, the Wallace and Jama Fowler House, Garden and Conservatory. Other major U of A gifts include $2.5 million for the Fowler Family Baseball and Track Training Center and $1 million to name the Don and Ellen Edmondson Legacy Studio in Vol Walker Hall to honor their long-time friends. In 2013 Wallace and Jama Fowler received Chancellor’s Medals for their outstanding leadership and commitment to higher education at the University of Arkansas.

Charles Portis

Charles Portis is an author, journalist and University of Arkansas graduate. He’s best known for his second novel, True Grit (1968), a best seller that has been made into popular movies twice. His other four novels, Norwood (1966), Dog of the South (1979), Masters of Atlantis (1985) and Gringos (1991) were not as commercially successful but have been praised by critics and loyal readers as “comic masterpieces.”

Portis was born in El Dorado and grew up in small south Arkansas towns, graduating from high school in Hamburg. He joined the Marines and served in the infantry during the Korean War, earning the rank of sergeant. After his discharge he enrolled at the University of Arkansas as a journalism major.

"You had to choose a major, so I put down journalism” he later explained. “I must have thought it would be fun and not very hard, something like barber college — not to offend the barbers. They probably provide a more useful service."

Portis wrote for the Arkansas Traveler and the Northwest Arkansas Times while still a student. He worked briefly for the Memphis Commercial Appeal, then almost two years as a reporter at the Arkansas Gazette. He spent three years at the New York Herald Tribune, often covering the civil rights struggle in the South, then served one a year as the paper’s London bureau chief. In 1964 he returned  to Little Rock to write novels.

Portis currently lives in Little Rock, although he spent much of his career traveling and writing in Mexico. He has gained a degree of fame for his ability to avoid being famous – primarily by politely declining to do interviews with reporters.

Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany (2012) was published by Butler Center Books and includes memoirs, a stage play and an assortment of short fiction, nonfiction, and articles from his newspaper career.

In 2010, Portis received the Oxford American’s first Lifetime Achievement in Southern Literature award. The Porter Prize, for outstanding Arkansas writers, awarded its 30th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement Award to Portis in 2014. He was inducted into the U of A's Lemke Journalism Hall of Fame in 2016.

additional commencement ceremonies

Commencement ceremonies for undergraduates will be held on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12. The School of Law commencement will be held on Saturday, May 19. Here is the schedule for these ceremonies and their speakers.

Friday, May 11

• J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences; 3 p.m., Bud Walton Arena.

Speaker: Kassidy Joyner, from Rogers, a graduating senior honors economics major with a minor in Japanese. Fulbright College traditionally chooses a student as the commencement speaker.  

Saturday, May 12

• College of Engineering; Noon, Barnhill Arena

Speaker: Stuart Scott, B.S.Cmp.E.’88, M.S.Cmp.E.’90 and M.B.A.’94.
Scott is executive vice president and chief information officer for J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., responsible for engineering and technology, he is leading the transformation of J.B. Hunt into a technology-driven supply chain solutions company. 

• Sam M. Walton College of Business; 1 p.m., Bud Walton Arena

Speaker: John Furner, B.S.B.A.’96.                                                                   Furner is president and chief executive officer of Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart, Inc., and is implementing a transformation plan for the business.

• Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design; 1 p.m., Faulkner Performing Arts Center

Speaker: Katherine Darnstadt

Darnstadt is an architect, educator and founder and principal of Latent Design in Chicago, a collaborative of individuals whose projects focus on social, economic and environmental impact beyond the building.

• Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences; 3:30 p.m., Barnhill Arena

Speakers:

• Corrin Troutman, Outstanding Alumna, B.S.A.’01, is horticulturist, site manager and executive director at the Peel Compton Foundation in Bentonville.
• Olivera Jankovska, Outstanding Young Alumna, B.S.A.’09, is a UNICEF                        Global Citizenship Fellow

Bumpers College traditionally chooses two outstanding alumni as the commencement speakers.

• College of Education and Health Professions; 5:30 p.m., Bud Walton Arena

Speaker: Yvette Murphy-Erby, a professor of social work, is the vice provost for diversity and inclusion at the University of Arkansas.

Saturday, May 19

• School of Law; 2 p.m., Fayetteville Town Center

Speaker: Theresa Fette, B.S.B.A.’00, M.Acc.’00, J.D.’03 is a founder and CEO of Provident Trust Group, a leading self-directed retirement plan administrator and alternative-asset custodian.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.