Alumni and philanthropists Rush ’76 and Linda Harding ’82 pledged a total of $750,000 to benefit students at the University of Central Arkansas.
The Hardings announced a $500,000 gift to the the Norbert O. Schedler Honors College in September 2016. The gift will be unrestricted, but much of it will support opportunities for Travel Abroad Grants (TAG). The grants support students interested in participating in trips organized by UCA’s Study Abroad office. TAG is available for junior- and senior-level students, typically funding 60 to 75 percent of a student’s global travel. Other Honors College programs, such as Undergraduate Research Grants for Education and Experiential Learning Funds are likely to benefit from the gift as well.
In November 2016, the Hardings announced the endowment of the Melissa A. Courtway Scholarship Fund with a $50,000 gift and the establishment of the Tom Courtway Endowed Scholarship Fund with a $100,000 gift.
Former UCA President Tom Courtway established the Melissa A. Courtway Scholarship Fund in 2013 with the intent of supporting single parents who wish to continue their education at UCA. With the Harding family gift, the scholarship is now endowed and available for awarding.
The Harding’s $100,000 gift to establish the Tom Courtway Endowed Scholarship Fund came with a challenge to the community to match their donation with an additional $100,000. At a Community Reception for Courtway in December 2016, Kale Gober, vice president for University Advancement, announced that the University had raised more than $100,000 to meet the Harding family challenge.
Gober then announced that the Harding family gifted an additional $100,000 to fund the scholarship, which now totals more than $327,000.
To support these and other funds at the University, visit uca.edu/giving