The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received $7.5 million dollars from the Windgate Foundation. UA Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale announced the gift Friday.
$5 million of the award will create the “Enduring Opportunities Scholarship Fund,” an endowment Drale said will expand need-based scholarships for UA Little Rock students.
“This incredibly generous gift from Windgate is the next big step in securing affordability for future generations of Arkansans,” she said.
The Windgate Foundation also challenged UA Little Rock to raise an additional $1.5 million as part of the university’s ongoing Centennial Campaign. Drale made a personal pledge of $25,000 to jumpstart the fundraising effort.
The remaining funds will be used to fund scholarships over the next several years as the university establishes the new endowment.
“In 2020 we launched the half-off scholarship that offers 50% reduction of tuition for incoming freshman for up to four semesters regardless of income,” Drale said. “And that was important because we knew that there were a lot of students whose family income was too much for them to get federal aid, but not enough to cover the cost of attendance at UA Little Rock.”
In 2023 the university launched the “Trojan Guarantee” program that offers full tuition coverage for Pell Grant-eligible Arkansas students who also qualify for the Arkansas Challenge scholarship, which is awarded by the state.
Drale said the scholarships have benefitted over 4,100 students so far.
Little Rock Public Radio is a service of UA Little Rock but maintains editorial independence.
_
