CONWAY — Greg and Sherri Pillow have pledged $25,000 to establish the Pillow Family Finance Endowed Scholarship in the UCA College of Business.
The scholarship will be awarded annually, beginning in 2023, to a finance major in the college.
“The University of Central Arkansas is an important institution in our family,” said Pillow. “My wife and I went to school here and met many lifelong friends here; we love UCA. We wanted to be an encouragement to future UCA students and support their education.”
Pillow is the owner of Conway Wealth Management, which offers assistance in investments, financial planning, and insurance.
Pillow said he hopes the scholarship will encourage more students to pursue financial advising. According to Cerulli Associates, the average financial advisor is more than 50 years old.
“This has been a great career for me and there is plenty of opportunity for the next generation,” said Pillow. “If there is not a generation of financial advisors behind this one, there will be a void.”
The scholarship will give special preference to fifth-year students.
“My wife and I were both fifth-year students and sometimes aid is not as readily available to those students,” said Pillow. “We wanted to be able to encourage them to finish what they started.”
Pillow graduated from UCA in 1996 and has been a financial advisor since 1999.
The UCA College of Business is the fastest-growing college at the University of Central Arkansas with more than 1,650 undergraduate students and 150 graduate students. It offers 13 baccalaureate degrees, two master’s and one graduate certificate across four academic departments, and houses the state’s only insurance and risk management program. Visit uca.edu/business to learn more.