Texarkana Banker Pledges Gift to Walton College to Broaden International Experience Program

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Julia Peck Mobley, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Commercial National Bank of Texarkana, has pledged $100,000 to provide an endowment for study abroad scholarships in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas.

The scholarships from the Julia Peck Mobley Honors College International Experience Endowment will benefit students in Walton College’s Honors Program who wish to study abroad. Mobley’s gift will be matched by $100,000 from the Matching Gift Program to create a $200,000 endowment.

“It has almost become an imperative for our students to gain experience in studying abroad for them to be able compete in a global job market. We want to expand these opportunities for our students. Julia has been a valued supporter of the college, and we are very grateful to her for making it possible for our honors students to study in other cultures and business environments,” said Walton College Dean Doyle Z. Williams.

Joseph Ziegler, chair of the Walton College economics department and director of the International Program, said: “Many of our students report that immersion in a foreign culture is the best experience in their academic careers. Students who study abroad acquire first hand knowledge of other cultures and international business that is virtually impossible to duplicate in the traditional classroom. And, at the same time, they gain self-confidence, patience, ingenuity, flexibility and perspective that will serve them well throughout their careers. These scholarships will be invaluable to our program. We are very thankful for Ms. Mobley’s generosity.”

A native of Hope, Ark., Mobley is an alumna of the University of Arkansas. She serves on the Walton College Dean’s Executive Advisory Board and on the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame selection committee. She was the 1990 Beta Gamma Sigma honoree. In 2001, she established the John A. Dominick Endowed Scholarship to be awarded annually to an exceptional student in Beta Gamma Sigma. The scholarship was created in honor of the Walton College business professor who was instrumental in helping her career as a banker.

Mobley serves on the University of Arkansas Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Steering Committee and Women and Philanthropy Committee and she is a founding member of the Women’s Giving Circle. She is also a member of the 2010 Commission. She received the 1999 Citation of Distinguished UA Alumni award. She is an honorary member of Delta Mu Delta, national honor society in business administration. Mobley serves on the board of the Arkansas Alumni Association and as a member the Razorback Foundation Inc.

She was chosen by Arkansas Business Publishing Group to be recognized as one of the Top 100 Women in Arkansas in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. She received the public service award from the Sierra Club in 1998.

Mobley also serves on the boards of the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation, Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation, Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation and St. Michaels Hospital Foundation of Texarkana, Texas. She is a member of the International Women’s Forum and trustee of the First United Methodist Church.