Youngs' Gift to Land of Opportunity Scholarship Motivated By Personal Experience

Tracy and Lisa Young gave $25,000 to support the Land of Opportunity Scholarship, helping expand access to higher education for Arkansas students with high financial need. Their gift helps ease financial barriers and covers the real, everyday costs of attending college, ensuring that financial challenges do not stand in the way of earning a degree. 

The Land of Opportunity Scholarship is a three-year campaign launched in November 2024 to expand educational access for students from all 75 Arkansas counties. The initiative reflects the university’s land-grant mission by increasing access to higher education for Arkansas students, building partnerships between the university and businesses throughout the state and supporting economic and community development through education. 

For Tracy and Lisa Young, supporting students at the University of Arkansas is a deeply personal commitment motivated by their own experiences. Both Arkansas natives, they understand firsthand how financial uncertainty can complicate a student’s path to a degree and how even modest support can open doors and improve outcomes. 

“Tracy and Lisa Young’s generosity will help the Land of Opportunity Scholarship address financial challenges that prevent too many talented, hardworking Arkansas students from earning their degrees,” said Chancellor Charles Robinson. "We are grateful for their support and the difference it will make for students, families and communities across our state."  

“When Lisa and I heard about the Land of Opportunity Scholarships, we knew we wanted to get involved,” Tracy said. “Both of us come from families that worked hard but didn’t always have the means to provide every opportunity. A Pell Grant helped close the financial gap for me. Supporting students through this scholarship is our way of paying forward the help we received and honoring the people who believed in us.”  

Tracy, a 1997 graduate of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, grew up in El Dorado as the youngest of three children. His father, a car salesman, and his mother, a gifted substitute teacher who never had the opportunity to earn a degree, worked hard to give their children a chance at a college education. 

Still, the financial gaps were real. Tracy relied on a combination of an academic scholarship, Pell Grant support, student loans and part-time work to complete his degree. When his parents later moved to Northwest Arkansas, he gained some stability, but he never forgot the challenges of those early semesters. 

Tracy’s experience gives him keen insight into the difficulties that high financial need students can face. 

“Pell-eligible students will often deal with challenges that are beyond their control, that we may not even see,” he said. “Land of Opportunity Scholarships will give them a chance to focus on what they can control. If they can focus on their academic careers and remain steadfast, good things will happen.” 

Tracy has built a successful career in accounting for nearly 30 years. He is currently a partner and market sector leader in healthcare at Forvis Mazars — the eighth largest CPA firm in the country — in Houston, Texas. Tracy has maintained his connection to the U of A through years of campus recruiting and his service on the accounting department advisory board. 

Lisa, who grew up in Eureka Springs, also comes from a family grounded in hard work. Her father was an electrician who built his business without formal education, and her mother worked several decades as a waitress and hostess in the restaurant industry. Lisa began her college career at the U of A, earned her management degree from the University of Central Arkansas and spent two decades in retail management. The two met when Tracy, motivated by the loss of his academic scholarship, took a part-time job at the Northwest Arkansas Mall. Today, Lisa devotes her time to volunteer service with Ronald McDonald House Charities in Houston, continuing the couple’s shared commitment to supporting families during challenging times. 

“Tracy and Lisa Young’s support reflects exactly what the Land of Opportunity Scholarship is designed to do by removing financial friction so capable, motivated students can stay focused on earning their degrees,” said Scott Varady, vice chancellor for advancement. “Their gift helps address the real challenges students face and ensures that talent, effort and persistence, not circumstance, determine a student’s path forward.” 

Tracy and Lisa are members of the Chancellor’s Society and are recognized as Thoroughreds for their consecutive years of support for the university, including support for the Advance Arkansas Scholarship in 2019. They are also Life Members of the Arkansas Alumni Association. 

In recent years, Tracy and Lisa have shifted their philanthropy toward academic scholarships, focusing on students facing the same types of financial pressures they once felt. Their support for the Land of Opportunity Scholarship reflects their belief that cost of attendance should never be the barrier that keeps a motivated student from earning a degree. 

“We reached a point in our lives where Lisa and I recognized a critical population of students that needed resources,” Tracy said. “That’s when we started directing our support toward academic scholarships. We wanted to focus on helping everyday students.” 
 
About the Land of Opportunity Scholarship: The Land of Opportunity Scholarship campaign is a three-year initiative to further educational access opportunities for students from all 75 counties in Arkansas, improve graduation rates, create two-way engagement between the university and businesses throughout the state, and fulfill the institution’s land-grant mission to uplift Arkansas. As of Nov. 30, 2025, the campaign has raised 68% of its goal in 36% of the time through more than $136,817,585 in pledges and commitments.  

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 $3 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 few 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 and Economic Development News.