The U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith said Tuesday that received a $100,000 grant from Lisenne Rockefeller, wife of the late Lt. Gov. Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, to fund a lecture series in his name.
The museum said the three-year Winthrop Paul Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series will welcome leaders from the executive, judiciary and legislative parts of the U.S. government to speak about the marshals' history as it relates to each branch.
"The U.S. Marshals Museum is committed to education and honoring the heritage of the nation's oldest federal law enforcement agency," Robert Young, chairman of the U.S. Marshals Museum Foundation, said in a news release. "Mr. Rockefeller was an avid supporter of law enforcement throughout his life and this gift allows that legacy of support to continue."
"This museum will serve to perpetuate our respect for the men and women who risk their lives in service to this country each and every day," Lisenne Rockefeller said. "We are honored to support them through such an important institution."
Each lecture will be free and open to the public. The museum also said it will make podcasts of the lectures available to broadcast media, universities and other educational outlets.
Winthrop Paul Rockefeller was lieutenant governor from 1996 to until his death from a form of cancer in 2006. A prominent Arkansas Republican, he was the son of Winthrop Aldrich Rockefeller, who was governor of Arkansas from 1967 to 1971.
The $50 million, 20,000-SF U.S. Marshals Museum, which will sit on the banks of the Arkansas River near downtown Fort Smith, was first proposed in 2008. The design for the museum is by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Little Rock and Cambridge Seven Associates of Cambridge, Mass.
Officials plan a groundbreaking on the project for Sept. 24, the 225th anniversary of the service.
