Wal-Mart executive Jeff Gearhart and his wife, Lisa, have given the University of Arkansas Law School a $200,000 gift to establish an endowed fund to support diversity efforts at the school, UA said Monday.
The Gearhart Family Endowed Diversity Support Initiative will “enhance academic and professional development opportunities that advance diversity in the legal profession,” the school said in a statement. The initiative will support “internships, student travel to conferences and competitions, and expanded diversity education,” and will complement existing initiatives such as the LSAC DiscoverLaw.org Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) Program and the Native Youth Leadership Summit, the university said.
Gearhart, the executive vice president of global governance and corporate secretary of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is a 1989 graduate of the law school and a 1986 graduate of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, the university said. Lisa Gearhart is working on her bachelor’s degree at the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.
“We are extremely grateful to the Gearharts for their support of the law school and their commitment to making a positive impact on the legal profession as a whole,” law school Dean Stacy Leeds said in a statement. “This new endowment will help us attract and retain outstanding students and empower underrepresented communities throughout our state and nation.”