Alumna Establishes Honors College Fellowships

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David E. Johnson and Wilda S. McMurry

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Wilda S. McMurry of Las Vegas, Nev., has provided $240,000 to establish University of Arkansas fellowship and scholarship funds in memory of her husband, David E. Johnson.

A portion of McMurry’s gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar with $165,000 from the Matching Gift Program to endow the David E. Johnson and Wilda S. McMurry Honors College Fellowship and the David E. Johnson and Wilda S. McMurry Honors College Academy Scholarships. The remaining $75,000 of the gift will be used to create the David E. Johnson and Wilda S. McMurry Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship and fellowship are designed to attract high ability students, to recognize and honor the people who built Arkansas into a modern state and to increase the opportunities to their descendants to prosper in the future. The Honors College fellowship gives preference to students who have resided in Washington, Benton, Madison, Franklin or Crawford counties in Arkansas for at least three years. Applicants for the scholarship will be asked to submit an essay on the history of Northwest Arkansas 1850-2000 and may also include information on the longevity of the family lines in the area and their participation in the growth of the area. The fellowship and scholarships must be used to study in the areas of applied science or mathematics.

Vice Chancellor for University Advancement G. David Gearhart said: “It’s a special gift when someone chooses to remember a loved one by endowing memorial scholarships, which honor that person in perpetuity. We are grateful to Wilda McMurry for her generosity in establishing these scholarship funds. They will go a long way toward creating meaningful opportunities for students at the University of Arkansas.”

McMurry attended Prairie Grove schools. She said, “Our parents, Herman and Neva Barnes McMurry, always expected that my three sisters and brother and I would work hard to make the most of the education available to us.”

McMurry earned a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics from the University of Arkansas in 1966 prior to working in the research departments of two national food companies. She earned a Master of Science degree at Michigan State University and then went to work for a nationally renowned hospital.

“Along the way I was privileged to work with, and know, a number of outstanding scientists,” McMurry said. “It disturbs me now to know our country is dependent on French flu vaccines, Chinese rare earths, Filipino nurses, and doctors trained in Grenada. I commend all those from any country who excel in the sciences, demonstrating the results of hard work and dedication. But we also need to support the talents of those closest to us, so that all of us may continue to thrive. We’re heading into an unprecedented era, when we’ll have a far higher percentage of older and infirm citizens. This means a greater need for direct health care as well as for continued research into treatments for a multitude of illnesses and medical conditions. Broadening our scientific training should provide a greater number of qualified people to work with these problems.”

McMurry and David E. Johnson married in 1973. Johnson had a bachelor’s degree from MSU and a master’s from Wayne State University in Detroit. He worked for 25 years for the City of Detroit as an auditor. He had a great interest in the environment and its preservation. Johnson died in 1998 from a rare blood condition.

McMurry’s gift counts toward the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, which had recorded $1.021 billion in gifts and pledges against the $1 billion goal as of June 28, 2005, and ended June 30, 2005. Counting of gifts will continue until all gifts made by the June 30 deadline are recorded and matches have been determined. A final total will be announced when that process is complete.