Fort Smith native Bud Durden planned to study engineering when he enrolled in the U of A in 1961 until a friend teased him that he couldn't make the grades. Instead he studied business and law, degrees that served him well in founding a successful trucking company.

When friend and College of Engineering alumnus Jim McClelland suggested he make a donation to the engineering college, it made sense to Durden because his business depends on engineering skills and because two of his children earned degrees from the College of Engineering. A donation from Bud Durden and his wife, Grace Ann, benefitting the Grady E. Harvell Civil Engineering Research Center, was made in honor of Brandon Durden B.S.M.E.'13 and Michaelann Durden B.S.C.E.'19.

"Everything about the U of A has been good to me," he said. "I've been lucky. I did this for the university and for my kids."

Michaelann Durden, a civil analyst and engineer-in-training at Kimley-Horn design consulting in Austin, Texas, and Brandon Durden, project engineer at Garver in Fayetteville, both recruit graduates from the College of Engineering for their respective companies.

"Our dad's love for Arkansas and the University of Arkansas is why we both decided to attend. We both had wonderful experiences studying engineering here, and it is great that our dad is helping the university develop even further," Brandon Durden said. "After touring the new research center, it feels like the U of A is on the verge of joining a small club of elite research universities. We are excited to see where that takes the university and this region."

The 37,400-square-foot research center, referred to as CEREC, opened in July 2021. It provides space for faculty and students to conduct research and teaching laboratories capable of full-scale materials testing. CEREC also enabled the college to consolidate research labs spread across three facilities on separate campuses.