An anonymous $360,000 gift to John Brown University was announced Thursday, with the private university in Siloam Springs also noting that its endowment has topped $100 million for the first time.
The gift completes a campaign to add $2 million in endowed scholarships for visual arts students.
It comes after the January kickoff of the university's fundraising campaign to raise more than $125 million for scholarships and other projects, an effort known as Campaign for the Next Century: A Hope and A Future.
JBU's endowment is valued at $101 million as of the end of the third quarter in its fiscal calendar, according to the university. The nondenominational school has an enrollment of about 2,850 students, according to its website.
"We are deeply grateful to reach this endowment milestone because it reflects the sacrifice of generations of faithful and generous people who have given to JBU," JBU President Chip Pollard said in a statement. "These endowment funds are critical to support student scholarships, academic excellence, and operations so that JBU can both be better and more affordable."
Based on colleges included in the 2014 National Association of College and University Business Officers-Commonfund Study of Endowments, private universities in Arkansas with larger endowments than JBU were: Hendrix College at $182 million, Harding University at $117 million, Ouachita Baptist University at $101 million and University of the Ozarks at $101 million. For 2014, the study listed JBU's endowment as about $98 million.
Metro on 05/01/2015