CONWAY -- Acxiom founder Charles D. Morgan announced Wednesday that he was giving $300,000 to the University of Central Arkansas for use in the computer science and technology fields.
Morgan, former chief executive officer of Acxiom and executive chairman of First Orion Corp., said the Charles Dr. Morgan Endowed Chair of Computer Science Fund will be used to support and recruit faculty in those areas.
"UCA has made major contributions to the business community through their graduates, and I wanted to show my appreciation and help ensure that this contribution continues," Morgan said in a UCA news release.
In a brief interview after the announcement, Morgan noted that he has contributed to other institutions in the past.
"I felt like UCA is aggressively growing their program. I wanted to reward them," and encourage them to continue the good work, he said.
University spokesman Christina Madsen said 23 UCA students obtained either a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science in fiscal 2012, followed by 30 in fiscal 2013, 35 in fiscal 2014 and 54 in fiscal 2015.
UCA students can earn a bachelor's degree in computer science and a master's degree in applied computing.
Speaking to UCA executives, business and civic officials at a crowded campus coffeehouse, Morgan said he would like to see UCA step up that growth and graduate more than 100 in the near future.
Stephen Addison, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, said the gift also will help UCA expand its offerings in computer science and respond to new industry challenges.
"We are grateful for Charles Morgan's generous gift in support of our efforts in computer science," Addison said in the release. "The support of our local partners in the IT industry is vital to the ongoing development of our programs in computer science and is mutually beneficial to our partners."
UCA President Tom Courtway thanked Morgan "for his generosity, but more importantly for his belief and commitment to our computer science students and faculty."
"Having him associated with our computer science program is something we have always strived for, and just as he has done in so many other education endeavors, he has come forward to help us," Courtway said. "He is a visionary, an entrepreneur and someone we admire and respect, and we are very, very grateful for his gift."
Founded in 2007, First Orion owns PrivacyStar, a smart-phone security application that can block unwanted calls, identify callers through a reverse directory search and report calls to federal regulators.
State Desk on 12/08/2016