Little Rock Couple Donates Gift To Endow Scholarships In College Of Engineering

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Two new scholarships will be available for civil engineering majors at the University of Arkansas thanks to a $100,000 gift from Little Rock couple and UA alumni Gus and Irene Vratsinas.

The couple has endowed two Honors College Academy Scholarships in the College of Engineering’s civil engineering department. The Irene and Gus Vratsinas Honors Academy Scholarships in Civil Engineering will be awarded to two entering freshman civil engineering students who have been accepted in the UA Honors College and who show exceptional promise for careers in engineering.

The Vratsinas’ gift will be matched by $80,000 of the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation’s $300 million gift. Funds from the historic gift were set aside to create a pool of funds for prospective donors to leverage their own gifts and create named endowments in areas of interest. Honors Academy Scholarships are typically funded with a principal of $80,000.

UA Chancellor John A. White said, "Student support is critical to the University of Arkansas. Nationally competitive scholarship opportunities, like the Honors College Academy Scholarships, attract high-ability students to the U of A and keep talented students in the state. Year after year, our students who are here because of private gift support are winning prestigious national scholarship competitions and helping to raise the University’s academic profile and reputation. Thanks to the generosity of benefactors like Gus and Irene Vratsinas, we will continue to recruit and retain outstanding students, which fuels our vision of a nationally competitive, student-centered research university serving Arkansas and the world."

"We are very grateful to Gus and Irene for the support this endowment will provide to our outstanding civil engineering students," said Neil Schmitt, interim dean of engineering. "These scholarships will serve as a valuable tool as we recruit the brightest students who are committed to making a difference through engineering."

The Honors College is designed to provide students with the opportunity to participate in academic, research and creative activities beyond the traditional undergraduate experience. Minimum criteria for the Honors College are a high school grade point average of 3.5 and an ACT score of 27.

Mr. Vratsinas, who received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering in 1967 and a master of science degree in civil engineering in 1968 from the U of A, is chairman and chief executive officer of Vratsinas Construction Company (VCC), a Little Rock-based commercial contractor that offers a full range of construction services nationwide. The employee-owned company is one of the top 150 construction companies in the nation and ranks among the top five in its retail construction expertise. The company received the 2002 Vision Award from Constructec Magazine, and was named the Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation for 2002 by the Arkansas Community Foundation. Arkansas Business has also selected VCC as Arkansas Business of the Year.

Mr. Vratsinas is a member of the UA Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Steering Committee and serves as chairman of the College of Engineering Campaign Committee. He is a member of the Engineering Hall of Fame and the College of Engineering Advisory Council. He is also active in the Arkansas Academy of Civil Engineers.

Mrs. Vratsinas received a master’s degree in elementary education from the U of A in 1972. She has served as choir director for the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church for 25 years, a member of the 20^th Century Club, and a member of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Guild.

The Vratsinas’ gift counts toward the $300 Million Challenge, the campaign-within-a-campaign to raise $300 million for academic purposes to match the Walton Family’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 stood at $101.4 million as of April 30, 2003.