A scholarship for African-American students at UCA recently was endowed through the creation of the Joseph Norman Manley Scholarship Fund at the UCA Foundation in memory of the late Dr. Joseph Norman Manley by his family.
A Conway native who graduated from the Pine Street High School in 1954, Manley was the first African-American to earn a degree from UCA. He transferred to UCA in the fall of 1956 after completing his freshman year at Howard University and his sophomore year at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Manley graduated from UCA with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1958.
He went on to receive a master?s of science degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, then a doctorate of optometry from Ohio State University. He practiced optometry from his office in Little Rock and was assistant director of the Arkansas Comprehensive Health Planning Program until his death in 1974 at age 38.
African-American students at UCA in all areas of study with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 will be eligible for the scholarship, which will be awarded for the first time in the fall. During a special reception announcing the scholarship, UCA President Lu Hardin unveiled an endowment plaque for the scholarship. The plaque will be placed among more than 75 others on the Donor Wall of Honor in the lobby of McCastlain Hall.
Kelley Erstine, vice president of advancement and development, thanked the family for their generosity in establishing a scholarship for African-American students. ?This scholarship is a tribute to the legacy of Dr. Joseph Norman Manley. The generosity of Dr. Manley?s family will ensure the success of future generations of minority students who wish to earn a higher education at UCA.?
For more information on donating to the Joseph Norman Manley Scholarship Fund, contact the UCA Foundation at (501) 450-5288 or toll free 1-800-981-4426.
