UCA Magazine

UCA Receives $250,000 Gift to Endow Accounting Scholarships

Accounting Scholarship
President Tom Courtway, Bonnie Steenis, Dr. Stephanie Watson, chair of the Department of Accounting and Dr. Michael Hargis, dean of the College of Business, stand with the bronze plaque memorializing the $250,000 gift from the late alumna Donna S. Stephens at the October 2015 plaque unveiling ceremony.

Two accounting students at the University of Central Arkansas were the first recipients of an endowed scholarship fund gifted by the late Donna S. Stephens.

UCA received a $250,000 gift to endow the scholarship fund for Faulkner County students who major in accounting. The recipients of the scholarship were Spencer Freyaldenhoven and Kevin Wan.

Stephens was a 1968 graduate of State College of Arkansas (SCA), now UCA. She was a certified public accountant and owned her own accounting firm in Conway. Throughout her career, she was a great supporter of the Department of Accounting. She hired many accounting students for internships and some for permanent positions. Stephens passed away in January 2013 and her estate left the generous endowment to UCA to fund the accounting scholarships.

The University held a ceremony to unveil a plaque commemorating the gift in October 2015. During the ceremony, Bonnie Steenis, a long-time friend and office manager for Stephens, talked about the legacy of the scholarship. President Tom Courtway, College of Business Dean Michael Hargis and other friends and colleagues of Stephens were present, including the purchaser of Stephen’s business, Jennifer Bell, from Bell & Company.