FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The law firm of Friday, Eldredge and Clark has committed $100,000 to support the University of Arkansas School of Law building expansion project.

As part of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, the School of Law is in the midst of a capital campaign to raise at least $5.5 million. The 30,000 square-foot addition will include four new state-of-the-art classrooms, library space and a large new entrance hall that will become the new formal entrance to the Law School.

Richard Atkinson, dean of the School of Law, said: "We’d like to thank Friday, Eldredge and Clark for this wonderfully generous gift. The building is critical to the bright future of the Law School and would not be possible without gifts like this. In addition to their great corporate gift commitment, I am thankful as well for the individual gifts made by members of this outstanding firm. I am especially appreciative of Buddy Sutton, not only for his personal generosity, but for all he has done for the state of Arkansas and particularly the leadership he has provided for our building campaign. We hope their gift inspires other attorneys, alumni and friends of our law programs to participate in our building expansion as well."

Friday, Eldredge and Clark, Arkansas’ largest law firm, serves business, non-profit, governmental and individual clients in Arkansas and throughout the United States. The firm has a main office in Little Rock and additional offices in Fayetteville and Blytheville. The firm’s history goes back more than 130 years. Since the 1950s, the firm has been Arkansas’ largest law firm.

Buddy Sutton, principal partner with the firm, said he hopes the firm’s gift encourages others to get involved with the building effort. Sutton, a member of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Steering Committee and chairman of the School of Law Campaign Committee, has made a personal commitment of $100,000 to the Campaign.

This gift counts toward The $300 Million Challenge, the campaign-within-a-campaign. The purpose of the Challenge is to raise $300 million for academic purposes to match the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation’s $300 million gift. Challenge funds must be raised between Jan. 1, 2002, and June 30, 2005, the end of the Campaign. The Challenge total stands at $163.6 million, and the overall Campaign total stands at $793 million as of March 31, 2004.