Global Campus Awards Scholarships to 35 Students in Online Degree Programs – University of Arkansas
Top left, clockwise, a few of the past scholarship winners: John Emett, Nicole Price, Sophia Bazzi, Cristina Castorena, Saben Strode, Tabitha Mays, Cedric Haulcy, Kristi Lock, Jessica Culver and Hasnaini Wood.
The University of Arkansas Global Campus has chosen 35 students to receive the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship in the 2025-26 academic year. The awards total $64,000.
The Manning Scholarship helps support U of A students studying in online undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Many of these students remain in their communities, work full time and take care of their families while earning a degree. The number of recipients continues to climb each year.
“We are committed to helping students overcome what we know is the greatest barrier to higher education — the need for financial support,” said Cheryl Murphy, vice provost for distance education and leader of the Global Campus. “With a small fund established after longtime staff member W.E. Manning died in 1993, Global Campus has continued to grow the scholarship fund to increase the number of awards we make. Funds committed from Global Campus along with contributions by generous donors make this possible. The students who receive this scholarship are making significant contributions in their communities and workplaces,” she said.
Each of 29 awardees will receive a $2,000 scholarship to be distributed $1,000 per fall and spring semester. The remaining six awardees are graduating in December so they will receive an award totaling $1,000. The students are studying in online degree programs offered by the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences; the School of Law; the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences; the Sam M. Walton College of Business; the College of Education and Health Professions; and the College of Engineering.
Last year, the Global Campus awarded 31 scholarships for a total of $59,000.
The recipients, their hometowns and their online degree programs:
The Global Campus scholarship committee selected recipients based on their financial need, academic merit and significant community service. Preference was given to first-generation higher-education seekers and Arkansas residents.
Four scholarships were awarded in 2018, the inaugural year of the Manning award. In recent years, the Global Campus invested more than $1 million in the scholarship’s endowed fund. Generous donors have added to that amount through fundraising efforts such as “All in for Arkansas.”
Friends and co-workers of W.E. Manning established the scholarship fund with about $4,000 soon after Manning died in 1993. At the time of his death, Manning was studying in a U of A doctoral program and managing independent study programs.
Learn more about U of A online students on the Student Experience page of the U of A ONLINE website, where online degree programs are showcased. Anyone can donate to the scholarship fund online.
About the Global Campus: The Global Campus supports U of A colleges and schools in the development and delivery of education, specializing in online, distance and workforce programs and courses. It provides media production services, instructional design services, technology services and assistance with marketing, recruiting and strategic academic development.
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 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.
Heidi Wells, content writer and strategist
Global Campus
479-879-8760, heidiw@uark.edu
Yakeshia Jenkins won the award for her part in developing a groundbreaking system that manages non-credit courses, provides online registration and supports an internet portal that looks like an e-commerce website.
Sami Dridi, a poultry science professor and researcher with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, was recently elected second vice president of the Poultry Science Association board of directors.
The Arkansas Teacher Corps, a program of the Department of Education Reform, helps reduce teacher shortages and boosts student academic achievement and personal growth in the schools where fellows teach.
In this program, the mentor does not replace the role of the academic adviser. Instead, through at least two meetings a semester, the mentor can help students learn more about a variety of college-related topics.
U of A alumni Meredith and Aaron Dunn contributed $100,000 to the Land of Opportunity Scholarship.
