New Boyer Fellow Selected for University of Arkansas

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Stacia Baughman, Boyer Fellow

Stacia Baughman, a freshman working toward a bachelor of science in business administration in finance, has been selected as a Boyer Fellow in the Sam M. Walton College at the University of Arkansas.

She is the daughter of Susan Neyman of West Fork, and Paul Baughman of Fayetteville.

Baughman graduated valedictorian with high honors and an above 4.0 GPA from West Fork High School in 2010. She was student council president and National Honor’s Society president. She was also drum major of the state champion marching band and a member of the Academic Competition in Education team. Baughman is a Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) national qualifier and a two-time Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) national qualifier. She is involved in the Wesley Foundation on campus and is a member of Leadership Walton professional development program. In her spare time, she volunteers at Washington Regional Cancer Support Home.

“I'm really enjoying living in a dorm and getting to know new people and making friends with people from all over the place,” said Baughman. “I really enjoy the resources — academic, technological and personal — which are available to me as a Walton College Honors student.”

In 1999, alumni Tommy and Sylvia Boyer established the Boyer Fellowship to encourage outstanding students to pursue an education in the Walton College. The fellowship is designed to encourage and attract outstanding Arkansas students who want to study business at the university. To become a Boyer Fellow, a student must demonstrate financial need and the potential to be a leader. The gift commitment provides the student with $12,500 a year for tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, travel and special equipment.

At the time they made the gift for the fellowships, the Boyers said, “We’ve been very interested in helping young people, particularly those who have financial barriers in getting a quality education.”

The program also supports three other Boyer fellows studying in the Walton College: Brinkley Cook-Campbell of Mount Judea; Joseph Rossetti of Fayetteville; and Robert Ivers of Texarkana. Previous Boyers Fellows include Tommy Vo of Fort Smith; Adrienne Jung of Van Buren; Brandy Wells of West Fork; Chenin Vadalma of Hot Springs; Kimberly Wilkes of Fort Smith; Amanda Wyatt of Fort Smith; and Sarah Wells of Arkadelphia.

The Boyers, who split time between Amarillo, Texas, and Fayetteville, have been long-time supporters of the University of Arkansas. Tommy Boyer, B.S.B.A. ’64, is chief executive officer of Micro Images in Amarillo. He served as chair of the Walton College Dean’s Executive Advisory Committee, chair of the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame board and the college’s 2008 commencement speaker. Boyer was presiding co-chair of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century.

Sylvia Boyer, B.S.E ’63, also served with her husband on the Campaign Steering Committee and was vice chair of the committee’s College/School/Unit and Regional Subcommittee. In the past, the Boyers had also established seven endowed scholarships across the campus. For instance, in 1989, Sylvia Boyer established the Thomas E. Boyer Scholarship in the Walton College as a 25th wedding anniversary gift to her husband. He reciprocated with the Sylvia Ann Boyer Scholarship in the College of Education and Health Professions. In 1992, the University of Arkansas named the Boyers its volunteers of the year, and in 1999, the Arkansas Alumni Association honored the Boyers with the Andrew J. Lucas Distinguished Service Award.