Tami Thompson Strickland's son Tanner was interested in research and study abroad, and now a gift from Tami and Charles Strickland will make it possible for other students to benefit from their own international experiences.  

The Strickland's made a $35,000 gift to U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences to establish the Tanner Thompson Shuck and Robert W. George International Fund for Excellence Endowment.

The fund is dedicated to supporting the college's international programs office, and may be used for student awards/travel assistance, arrival/welcome services and study abroad projects.

Recipients will be enrolled in Bumpers College and participating in international programs, and be from Arkansas.

Robert W. George is an attorney with George's Inc., where he is senior vice president of legal, human resources, and environmental, health and safety.

Prior to taking the position with George's, he was senior counsel with the law firm Friday, Eldredge & Clark in Rogers. His focus was in both federal and state courts, and included defending clients against environmental and toxic tort claims as well as commercial disputes contractual in nature or involving fraud, theft or unfair competition. He also previously worked as corporate counsel for Tyson Foods where he was vice president of litigation and regulatory affairs, leading a team of lawyers responsible for regulatory compliance, civil and criminal litigation management, patent prosecution and internal investigations.

George, who has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in agriculture law and commercial litigation, earned his juris doctor degree from the U of A School of Law in 1998.

Shuck, who loved environmental sciences and felt a responsibility to preserve the environment for the future, passed away unexpectedly in April 2018.

Contributions of $400,000 from Tami and Charles Strickland, and Georgia Thompson, on behalf of the Gene and Georgia Thompson Family, established The Tanner Thompson Shuck Memorial Endowed Scholarship in 2018. The scholarship benefits sophomore, junior or senior students majoring in environmental, soil and water science in Bumpers College's Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.