FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas alumni Kevin and Stephanie Wilcox of Little Rock have contributed $200,000 to the Advance Arkansas scholarship initiative. Their gift will benefit students from the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design and count in Campaign Arkansas, the university’s $1.25 billion capital campaign focused on advancing academic opportunity at the U of A.

“I’ve been very blessed in my job and career,” Kevin Wilcox said. “I have such love for the U of A, so it was natural to have it as among the institutions that Stephanie and I support with our gifts.”

The Kevin and Stephanie Wilcox Advance Arkansas Endowed Scholarship will support new, returning and transfer students from the state of Arkansas who exhibit financial need, have records of academic success and demonstrate a strong desire to complete their degree at the university. Scholarship awards will be split evenly between two qualified students enrolled in the Walton College and two from the Fay Jones School.

“We are incredibly thankful for Kevin and Stephanie’s support of student success at the University of Arkansas,” Chancellor Joe Steinmetz said. “I’ve visited with them extensively about the need for Advance Arkansas scholarships and the struggles of first-generation college students, like myself. It’s wonderful that they have chosen to provide this opportunity for students from Arkansas.”

“From Chancellor Steinmetz, we learned that many students were not able to stay in school due to their financial situations,” Kevin Wilcox said. “It was disconcerting  to hear that often even students with solid grades could not return after their first year due to the challenges of financing their education.

“We hope these scholarships give students the opportunity to pursue their passions,” he continued. “Whether it be in the Fay Jones School or the Walton College, hopefully these students can be positioned for fulfilling careers – ones they are proud of and in which they can then give back to their own families, their community and, hopefully, the U of A as well.”

Kevin Wilcox is a Little Rock native and earned a B.S.B.A. from the Walton College with a concentration in finance and banking. As a student, he was involved in Robert Kennedy’s portfolio management class and the Sigma Chi fraternity.

“I had a wonderful time at the U of A,” he said. “Dr. Kennedy was a real mentor to me.”

Wilcox’s late father, Jerry Wilcox, graduated from the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the U of A, so supporting architecture students, along with business students, was important to the couple.

Originally from Pine Bluff, Stephanie Wilcox earned a B.S. in home economics from the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and was a member of Chi Omega.

The Wilcoxes are life members of the Arkansas Alumni Association, the Chancellor’s Society and are counted as Thoroughreds for their seven years of consecutive giving to the U of A. Kevin Wilcox is also a member of the Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee and the Central Arkansas campaign committee.

About Campaign Arkansas: Campaign Arkansas is the ongoing capital campaign for the University of Arkansas to raise private gift support for the university’s academic mission and other key priorities. The campaign’s goal is to raise $1.25 billion to support academic and need-based scholarships, technology enhancements, new and renovated facilities, undergraduate, graduate and faculty research, study abroad opportunities and other innovative programs. The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in a wide spectrum of disciplines as it works to fulfill its public land-grant mission to serve Arkansas and beyond as a partner, resource and catalyst.

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.