Chancellor Endows Access Arkansas Scholarship at the University of Arkansas

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Chancellor John A. White and Mrs. Mary Lib White

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Chancellor John A. White and Mrs. Mary Lib White have established an endowed Access Arkansas scholarship at the University of Arkansas. The $50,000 gift is named the John Austin and Ella Mae McDermott White Future Teachers’ Endowed Scholarship, in honor of Chancellor White’s parents. The need-based scholarship is available to students in any academic unit whose future plans involve teaching.

“Mary Lib and I recognize the great importance of raising money for need-based support at this university and we are thrilled to contribute to the Access Arkansas initiative,” said Chancellor White. “Many students struggle to meet the financial obligations of attending college and each Access Arkansas scholarship will help to ease that burden for one or more of our very capable and deserving students.”

Chancellor White, an Arkansas native, recently celebrated his 10^th year as chancellor of the University of Arkansas and Distinguished Professor of Industrial Engineering. His background includes extensive experience in academe, business and government. He has served as the dean of engineering at Georgia Tech and was a member of the Georgia Tech faculty for 22 years. He has served in leadership roles for a number of engineering institutes and societies and was assistant director for engineering at the National Science Foundation. Chancellor White has been recognized many times for his service and was honored in 2006 as the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the close of the University of Arkansas’ Campaign for the Twenty-First Century that raised more than $1 billion for the university. He was named the 2006 Northwest Arkansas Humanitarian of the Year by the National Coalition for Community and Justice. He also received the 2005 Regent’s Medallion of Merit from Sigma Nu Fraternity.

Chancellor White is actively involved in the 2010 Commission, the volunteer group of distinguished business leaders, educators and governmental leaders whose charge is to make the case for increased public support of higher education in general and the University of Arkansas in particular. He is a co-chair of the Northwest Arkansas Council and a member of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority. He has served on both the NCAA Executive Committee and the NCAA Division I Board of directors as well as a term as the president of the Southeastern Conference. Chancellor and Mary Lib White have supported many university programs over the years, and they are members of the Towers of Old Main, which recognizes benefactors who have reached the $100,000 giving level.

Chancellor White earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering at the University of Arkansas in 1962, a master’s degree at Virginia Tech and a doctorate at Ohio State. He also holds honorary doctorates from Katholieke Universitiet of Leuven, Belgium, and George Washington University.

Mrs. White earned her bachelor's degree in home economics and sociology at East Tennessee State University and taught home economics for four years in Kingsport, Tenn. She has been an active volunteer with the American Cancer Society, Meals on Wheels, Kappa Delta, the Arkansas Chapter of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Junior League of Northwest Arkansas Community Advisory Board and numerous other organizations. As a member of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Women in Philanthropy Committee, she became a charter member of the University of Arkansas’ Women's Giving Circle. She is active in the University Women's Club. In 2004, Mary Lib White was named an honorary alumna by the Arkansas Alumni Association.

Chancellor and Mrs. White have two children and four grandchildren.

“I am grateful to John and Mary Lib for their gift to Access Arkansas,” said Dave Gearhart, vice chancellor for University Advancement. “By contributing to this initiative, they are leading by example. Need-based support is undoubtedly a top priority for our institution, and this generous gift is evidence of a high-level commitment to the purpose of Access Arkansas.”

John Austin White holds a bachelor's degree from Arkansas State Teacher’s College which is now the University of Central Arkansas and a master's degree from the University of Arkansas. He was a high school English teacher, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent. He also coached early in his career.

Ella Mae McDermott White holds a bachelor's degree from Arkansas Agricultural and Mechanical College which is now the University of Arkansas at Monticello and a master's degree from Arkansas State Teacher’s College. She was an elementary school teacher in several Arkansas cities including Dermott, Portland, Earle, Paris, Crossett, Harrison and Conway.

Together, they amassed more than 70 years of teaching service in the Arkansas Teachers Retirement System. Over the years, they provided financial assistance for a large number of young men and women to attend college. Naming an Access Arkansas scholarship in their honor is a way to continue their efforts and help students stay in school.

Last year the University of Arkansas launched Access Arkansas, a program committed to raising money for need-based scholarship support, particularly for undergraduate students. The program was approved in the fall of 2006 by the university's Board of Advisors, an organization that helps guide the institution's advancement and fundraising efforts. The overall goal for the program is $15 million over five years.