A $1.56 million grant from the Little Rock-based Windgate Foundation will create an endowment for scholarships at Henderson State University.
The Windgate Foundation Scholarship Endowment will support students with financial need, according to the university.
"More than half of Henderson's first-time freshmen are first-generation college students, and more than 90 percent of students qualify for aid," Jim Borsig, the university's interim chancellor, said in a statement.
Borsig said the grant will "empower" current and future students "to finish their degrees and transform their lives."
The Windgate Foundation has previously provided support for student scholarships at several colleges in the state, including the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and the University of Arkansas - Pulaski Technical College.
Scholarship applications for Henderson State students will open in late fall.