Chaffin Scholarship to Help Business Students with Financial Need

Photo by Amy Bell at Studio Bella

Stephen and Tricia Chaffin with their sons Alex (standing, left), Patrick (standing, right) and Matthew (seated).

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Alumnus Stephen Chaffin says the University of Arkansas provided him with “great memories and great results.” Now, Chaffin and his wife, Tricia, who live in Little Rock, are providing those same opportunities for students with financial need through the creation of an endowed scholarship. Their gift of $100,000 will establish the Chaffin Family Endowed Scholarship in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

“Stephen and Tricia Chaffin are change-makers for Walton students in need,” said Matthew A. Waller, Walton College dean. “We appreciate their generous support of our students and our college.”

Undergraduate students majoring in finance or considering a career in financial planning are preferred for the scholarship. The couple’s intention is to assist students who have financial need and who are not already involved with the Walton College honors program or the U of A Honors College.

“We want the students who don’t make straight As to have the same opportunities as the ones who do,” said Chaffin. “I feel privileged to be able to make this gift. The university had a big impact on me, and the Walton College is a great place.”

Chaffin graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1980 with a degree in finance and banking. His father also graduated from the university, as did two of the couple’s three sons.

“The University of Arkansas was the natural place for me to go,” said Chaffin. “It was in my DNA.”

Chaffin is president of Smith Capital Management in Little Rock and has been a member of the Walton College Dean’s Executive Advisory Board for several years. He is also a member of the Walton College’s Campaign Arkansas committee, the Arkansas Alumni Association and the Chancellor’s Society and is counted as a Thoroughred for his consecutive years of giving to the U of A.

About the Sam M. Walton College of Business: The Sam M. Walton College of Business is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in business education and research. Since its founding at the University of Arkansas in 1926, the Walton College has grown to become the state's premier college of business – as well as a nationally competitive business school. The Walton College is ranked 26th among public business colleges by U.S. News & World Report, which ranks the supply chain management/logistics specialty 14th among public business colleges.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.