Profiles in Giving
To understand why George and Boyce Billingsley of Bella Vista are such generous University of Arkansas benefactors, it's necessary to appreciate that their experience as UA students was significant in shaping the people they are today.
The promise of receiving a quality education wasn't what drew George Billingsley to the University of Arkansas in the late 1940s from Memphis, Tennessee. It was a friend's promise that Arkansas was full of pretty girls that brought him to Fayetteville initially.
Mr. Billingsley describes the atmosphere on campus during the late 1940s and early 1950s as a time of excitement and camaraderie, when any one of the 4,000 students could become acquainted and build lasting relationships at Dickson Street rendezvous spots like Jug Wheeler's Drive-In and George's and the Arkansas Union on campus. And, yes, there were pretty girls, including Boyce Wollard from West Memphis who would eventually become his wife.
After four years of military service during the Korean War, Mr. Billingsley returned to Fayetteville to resume his education and says he realized then that Arkansas truly is the "Land of Opportunity," as the former state motto decreed. He came to value the relationships he had made during his time at the University of Arkansas and says they helped him as he built a successful business in Northwest Arkansas. George Billingsley, BA in history '57, is now chairman and chief executive officer of Pacific Resources Export Limited and president of International Tours of Northwest Arkansas. Boyce Billingsley is a '55 graduate in finance and banking.
"That's why I urge people to stay in Arkansas," Mr. Billingsley says. "The University of Arkansas is so important. People need to keep connected with the University and contribute in any way they can."
In those college days, recalls George Billingsley, when students graduated from the University of Arkansas, they would generally go to Dallas or Houston to seek employment. Now, business opportunities in Arkansas are more diverse and abundant for graduates.
"It was so different from how it is today," he says. "The state of Arkansas is blessed to have grown in such a way.
"Return to Arkansas what Arkansas gave you," is Mr. Billingsley's message to prospective UA donors. "Not just dollars and cents, but every type of gift. John White has excelled at building a great base and we owe it to the future of the state of Arkansas to see the University of Arkansas thrive."
The Billingsleys are pleased when they see successful UA alumni return to the state and to the University. They are equally pleased to see the many contributions the University has made to Arkansas and the world. Mr. Billingsley says he feels that all campus areas are capable of making a difference through research and other efforts. For those reasons, the Billingsleys chose to provide $8.4 million from their charitable remainder trust to benefit seven UA campus areas, including:
- Sam M. Walton College of Business - $1.5 million for an endowed chair
- College of Education and Health Professions - $1.5 million for an endowed chair
- College of Engineering - $1.5 million for an endowed chair
- Department of History in Fulbright College - $1.5 million for an endowed chair
- University Libraries - $500,000 for endowed acquisitions fund that will enable the libraries to purchase much-needed books and equipment
- Chancellor's Scholarships - $900,000 plus the remainder of the trust value at the time of transfer to the University of Arkansas
- Razorback Foundation Inc. - $930,000 for men's athletics
The Billingsleys also designating $930,000 from the trust to benefit the endowment fund of the Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock.
This is not the Billingsleys' first demonstration of extraordinary philanthropy to the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. In 1999, the Billingsleys made a $1.15 million gift that established a program for international music preservation in the Fulbright College. The music building was later renamed in their honor.
The Billingsleys are longtime friends of the University of Arkansas, members of the Chancellor's Society, contributors to the restoration of Old Main, and members of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Steering Committee. Mr. Billingsley serves as a Campaign Vice Chair.
"We are indebted as alumni and ought not to forget it," Mr. Billingsley says.
