Hendrix College, the private, liberal arts college in Conway, on Wednesday announced a $26 million donation — the biggest in its history — from the estate of Mary Ann Dawkins of Little Rock, who died in December.
The college, which has been in Conway for 125 years, said it will use the money “to support scholarships, promote college affordability and launch the college’s fundraising effort to construct a new welcome center at the northeast corner of the campus.”
The focus of the increased scholarships will be the Hendrix Arkansas Advantage program and a newly established partnership with the League of United Latin American Citizens.
The new welcome center will eventually take the place of the Raney Building and be named in honor of Dawkins and her husband. It will house the admissions and financial aid offices.
“At Hendrix over the past year we’ve been really focused on affordability and accessibility and on keeping this college accessible for all young people of talent in this state, and this gift really means we can keep doing that and we can even expand on our efforts,” Hendrix College President Bill Tsutsui said Wednesday.
With the gift, the Hendrix College endowment now surpasses $200 million for the first time in the school’s history.
“Not only is today’s announcement a historic moment for Hendrix, it’s an incredible moment for future students,” Tsutsui said. “Christmas may have come early at Hendrix this year.”
Tsutsui is serving his second academic year as president of the college.
According to Hendrix, Dawkins attended a performance of the Hendrix College Choir’s Candlelight Carol Service at First United Methodist Church in North Little Rock in 1986, which inspired her to establish the Dr. David and Mary Ann Dawkins Endowed Scholarship Fund at Hendrix in memory of her late husband.
Neither she, her husband, nor any of her immediate relatives attended Hendrix. The Candlelight Carol Service tradition continues to this day.
Mary Ann Dawkins retired from Coulson Oil Co., founded by her parents, after 41 years. She was corporate secretary and had served on the company’s board of directors. She was also on the boards of the Arkansas Oil Marketers Association and Mid-South Make-A-Wish Foundation and supported the Special Olympics.
“We are grateful, honored, and humbled by Mary Ann Dawkins’ extraordinary generosity,” Tsutsui said. “This gift will help us continue to attract bright and talented students and keep the world-class liberal arts education and student experience at Hendrix within reach of all young people and their families.”
Before the Dawkins donation, the previous largest gift to Hendrix was a $10.9 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in 1998. Hendrix used the money to finish a renovation of science teaching and research facilities and to build the new Donald W. Reynolds Center for Life Sciences.
“This is clearly one of the most exciting events in the history of the college,” David Knight, chair of the Hendrix College Board of Trustees said. “[Mary Ann Dawkins] appreciated and understood the mision of our college.”
The gift is the single largest donation to an independent college in Arkansas not from a Walton, Tsutsui said.