Whiteside Gift Supports Students Who Work Hard and Struggle to Make Ends Meet

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Charlie Whiteside

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Charlie Whiteside (B.S.B.A. 1963) is around University of Arkansas students a lot. Since 1974, he has served as the housing corporation president for his fraternity, Kappa Sigma. Through this experience, he talks to students about their academic challenges, and it is clear that many students are working multiple jobs just to pay their bills. Whiteside and his wife, Cappy (B.S.B.A. 1965), have made a gift of $50,000 toward the Access Arkansas initiative, which will help students with financial need who are committed to staying in school.

“Students with need have always been an underserved population,” said Whiteside. “Not everyone can have a top GPA and qualify for the merit-based scholarships, and I know a lot of people who fell into this category and wound up being very successful in life. Not being particularly brilliant myself, I can completely relate.”

Whiteside points to one particular experience as an undergraduate at the University of Arkansas that makes him even more committed to helping students. When he was a junior, he had a finance professor, Bob Kennedy, who motivated him to learn. He was scared to death of this professor, but he dramatically changed Whiteside’s outcome. He encouraged him and he made a real difference in his academic success.

“I hope our gift will allow a student to have an experience like I had … to have a professor truly inspire them,” he said. “We’d be making a mistake to only focus on the brightest students. I hope the Access Arkansas program will allow us to focus on the students who work hard and try to apply themselves, too.”

In choosing to fund scholarships through Access Arkansas, the Whitesides decided to name the scholarship fund after John C. Futrall, the longest-serving president of the university who also happened to be the first member of Kappa Sigma and the university’s first football coach.

“John Futrall was an extraordinary man,” said Charlie Whiteside. “He was intent on educating the people of Arkansas, and he wanted to expand educational opportunities across our state. As far as I can tell, that is still a top need for Arkansas: education. When you look at national statistics, Arkansas has a long way to go in terms of awarding bachelor’s degrees. I hope we can continue his vision and educate more of our own.”

A true Razorback family, the Whitesides’ daughter, Carrie, earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Arkansas. She is an A-plus member of the Arkansas Alumni Association. Charlie’s father was a Kappa Sigma from 1932 until 1936. He was also editor of the Razorback yearbook in 1935 and remained very involved with the university.

Charlie Whiteside is the first vice president for Merrill Lynch in Little Rock. He serves on the University of Arkansas Board of Advisors and was a member of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Steering Committee. He has received the university’s Volunteer of the Year Award and the Andrew J. Lucas Alumni Service Award, which acknowledges significant contributions of time and energy on behalf of the university and the Arkansas Alumni Association. The Whitesides are A+ Life Members of the alumni association and members of the Towers of Old Main.