UA Walton College Honors Outstanding Alumni, Students, Faculty and Staff

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, will hold its eleventh annual honors banquet tonight at the Holiday Inn in Springdale.

The Walton College will honor four distinctive alumni:

George W. Edwards, Jr., president and CEO (retired), Kansas City Southern Railroad, Eatonton, Ga. - Lifetime Achievement Award;
Jim Williams, Jr., president of LandPlan Development Corp., Frisco, Texas - Entrepreneur of the Year;
David Malone, executive director, Arkansas Teachers Retirement System, Little Rock, Ark. - Outstanding Service Award; and
David A. West, professor of finance, University of Missouri College of Business, Columbia, Mo. - Special Recognition Award.
Walton College Dean Doyle Z. Williams said: "We have chosen these alumni because they exemplify the very essence of what we are trying to teach our students. Their accomplishments provide inspiration to the students as well as to our faculty and staff."

From 1985 to 1991, Edwards was chairman of United Illuminating Company, New Haven, Conn. While at United Illuminating, he was instrumental in resolving the two-decade-long controversy over the Seabrook Nuclear Generating Station in New Hampshire and securing an operating license for the plant. Edwards is currently chairman of the board of the El Paso Electric Company, El Paso, Texas, and a director for Hubbell Inc., Orange, Conn. As a major in the Army from 1961 to 1969, Edwards received three Bronze Stars, two Army Commendation Medals and an Air Medal for service in Vietnam and Germany.

Williams has been involved in some of the most prestigious residential, recreational and commercial developments in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. As president of LandPlan Development, since 1998 he has been involved in master planning and development of residential, commercial and health care real estate projects in the Plano and Frisco area. Williams has been active in Dallas business and civic circles, serving as president of the Greater Dallas Planning Council and the Dallas Chamber of Commerce Housing Committee, as director of Dallas Home & Apartment Buildings Association, and on the board of the new Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Williams was a former linebacker for the Houston Oilers in 1966 and an All- Southwest Conference defensive tackle for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks in 1964-65.

As executive director of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, Arkansas’ largest pension fund, Malone oversees funds for 76,000 members and 20,000 retirees. His experience has helped stabilize the $8 billion fund in dynamic market conditions. He served part-time on the college’s faculty from 1969 to 1974 and full-time from 1974 to 1976. He taught in the School of Law from 1976 to 1990, where he also served as assistant dean. He then led the University of Arkansas Foundation from 1990 to 2002. He served Arkansas as a member of the legislature for over 20 years and also as the mayor of Fayetteville in 1979-1980.

West has been in the department of finance of University of Missouri College of Business since 1966, serving as chair of the department from 1970 to 1982. His interests include real estate finance, investments and health care finance. Since 1980, he has held a joint appointment with the Department of Health Management and Informatics at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. West served as president of Beta Gamma Sigma, Beta Chapter of Missouri, for five years. He received the Lifetime Membership Special Award from the Black Business Students Association in recognition of outstanding leadership achievement in 2002. West’s son Tim West is an associate professor in the Walton College accounting department.

WALTON COLLEGE OUSTANDING STUDENT AWARDS

The Walton College’s outstanding undergraduate senior awards include:

Accounting - Laura Breeding, Little Rock; Elizabeth Johnson, Little Rock; and Sarah Jones, Pine Bluff

Economics - Reeanna McGrath, Mountain Home

Finance - John Crain, North Little Rock; Brock Gearhart, Fayetteville; Zhanna Sharpanova, Volgograd, Russia ; Pooja Verma, Fayetteville; and Ping Wei, Kunming City, Yuman Province, China

Information Systems - Jonathan Beckford, Bolivia, South America; Kelly Hall, Fort Smith; and Tim Kenny, Neosho, Mo.

International Business - Maren Bockenfeld, Rogers

Marketing and Transportation - Lindsey Harrison, Collierville, Tenn.; Krystal Johnson, Camden; Adrienne Jung, Van Buren; Eric Mahurin, Bella Vista; Marlena Sweeney, Monett, Mo.; and Clay Tuttle Frisco, Texas

Robert D. Hay Senior Management Scholars - Catherine Clem, Malvern; and Brett Dolan, Poteau, Okla.

Ralph Treat Outstanding Cooperative Student Awards - Jaimey Malone, Fayetteville

Graduate student awards include:

Master of Business Administration - Indira Balan, Bombay, India; and Robert Wittig, Phoenix, Ariz.

Master of Accountancy - Signa Smith, Morrilton

Master of Arts in Economics - Xiaoyu Sun, Jinan Shandong, China

Master of Information Systems - Kenneth Armstrong, Fayetteville

Master of Transportation and Logistics - Yajing Lit, HangZhou, Shejiang

The Sam M. Walton Student Leadership award will be given to Patrick Hagge, Cabot.

University of Arkansas and Walton College student awards, which will also be recognized at the University-wide ceremonies on April 16, include: First-ranked Senior Scholars - Laura Breeding, Maren Bockenfeld, Sarah Jones, Adrienne Jung and Tim Kenny. These students completed all of their course work at the U of A with a GPA of 4.0. The Senior Scholars are Chris Davitt, North Little Rock; Shanna Sharpanova; and Theresa Story, Fayetteville. They have been enrolled at the University for at least four semesters and have a GPA of 4.0. Vesela Grozeva, Pavlikeni, Bulgaria will receive the Beta Gamma Sigma award, and Ashley Brooke Simmons, Bella Vista, will receive the Presidential Scholar award. The Walton College’s Outstanding Graduating Senior is Marlena Sweeney.

OUTSTANDING WALTON COLLEGE FACULTY AND STAFF

Williams will recognize the outstanding Walton College faculty and staff for the 2003-2004 academic year. He said: "It takes the combined efforts of all of our faculty and our staff to provide these students with the best business education possible. We are grateful for all of their work this year to produce a top graduating class."

Amy Farmer, professor of economics, will receive the "Outstanding All-Around Faculty" award for excelling in teaching, research and service. The "Excellence in Teaching" award will be given to Robert Staff, clinical associate professor of economics, for his teaching on the Japanese economy. The "Excellence in Research" award will be presented to Anne O’Leary-Kelly, professor of management, for her research productivity. Deborah W. Thomas, Nolan E. Williams Lectureship in Accounting and master of accountancy director, will receive the "Excellence in Advising" award for her work in helping students. The "Excellence in Service" award will be presented to William P. Curington, associate dean for academic affairs, for his leadership in the college’s new curriculum. Kenneth Armstrong will receive the "Outstanding Graduate Assistant" award for excellence in teaching.

Williams will recognize five faculty and staff members for their length of service to the Walton College and the University of Arkansas: 10 years of service - Debbie Coleman, administrative assistant in the Information Technology Research Center, and 20 years of services - Norma Brown, instructor in information systems; Nina Gupta, Raymond F. Orr Chair in Management; Terry Garrity, administrative assistant in information systems; and Pu Liu, Harold Dulan Chair in Finance

The Walton College "Major Contribution" award will go to Sandy Kizer, director of the college’s Technology Center. The "Superior Staff Service" award will go to Theres Stiefer, director of the college’s Career Development Center.

The Walton College "High Performance Team" award will go to the Center for Retailing Excellence for its successful retail symposiums. Members include managing director, Claudia Mobley, and Pam Styles and Paula Justus. The "Outstanding Team Achievement" award will go to four teams for their work on the student career fairs. These include: Career Development Center - Theres Stiefer, Renee Clay, Heather Sprandel and Tommi Featherston; Center for Retailing - Claudia Mobley, Pam Styles, and Paula Justus; Information Technology Research Center - Brad Lawless and Debbie Coleman; and Supply Chain Management Research Center - James Crowell and Mary Boles.