FAYETTEVILLE -- Two $50,000 gifts from a Texas couple will support concert and athletic bands at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
The Robert and Karen Smith Recruiting and Outreach Fund for University Bands will help students "find their musical passion," Todd Shields, dean of UA's J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, said in a statement released by the university.
The couple live in Paris, Texas, and their additional gift will support other areas of need for UA's six band ensembles. More than 400 students participate in the Razorback Marching Band, Hogwild Band and four concert bands, Jennifer Holland, UA's director of development communications, said in an email.
Robert Smith, a senior vice president of investments for financial advisers Benjamin F. Edwards and Co., in a statement released by UA said he joined the university's band as a tenor sax player.
"Band was my second home, and it gives students an opportunity to belong to something," said Smith, who earned a bachelor's degree from UA in 1972.
Metro on 05/24/2017