The Windgate Foundation presents the largest single gift in UAFS history

ON CAMPUS

Historic Gift by Windgate to Transform University and River Valley

WINDGATE ART & DESIGN:

The expansion of UAFS’s iconic arts building as well as the near-doubling of the Nursing Department will be the result of an $18.7 million gift.

In September, speaking about the $18.7M gift from the Windgate Foundation, Chancellor Terisa Riley said, “In some ways, they can dream even bigger than we do, and to dream big dreams to improve our community together is special.”

The transformational gift is the largest in university history. It is earmarked to expand the acclaimed nursing and art education programs.

The gift addresses critical needs in the Arkansas River Valley, dramatically increasing nursing graduates and cultivating an immersive arts experience for students and the public through the expansion of Windgate Art and Design and Art Department’s off erings. “The Windgate Foundation cares deeply about Fort Smith,” said Blake Rickman, Executive Director of the UAFS Foundation and Vice Chancellor for University Advancement. “This is their hometown, and they understand the unique relationship between UAFS and the community. We aren’t just a university in Fort Smith; we are Fort Smith’s university, and we couldn’t be more thankful for their support.”

“This foundation has walked hand-in-hand with us for so many years,” Riley said. “I take a lot of pride in their trust in us as good stewards of their investments.”

Before this gift, the Windgate Foundation awarded more than $25 million to UAFS in support of the Windgate Art and Design building and endowment, visual arts and design programming, and a comprehensive scholarship endowment for high-need students.

“Through their generous gift, the members of the Windgate Foundation have entrusted to us the ability to carry out a large part of their legacy,” Riley said. “It’s an honor, and I am so impressed by how quickly they have used their philanthropy to ensure that their investments empower us to adapt to the community’s changing needs.”

“When priorities can adjust in real-time, you know the people behind the scenes are genuine servants of their community,” echoed Rickman.

Over the past three years, he said, the university and the Windgate Foundation pivoted from discussing a single gift to improve fi ne art facilities at UAFS to creating the multitiered plan to holistically advance the health and wellness of the River Valley.

CHEERS: The UAFS Cheer Squad shares the amount of the Windgate gift.

Windgate Gift to Expand Arts and Arts Education

An $8.8 million gift by the Windgate Foundation to the Art and Design department promises a physical expansion of UAFS’s iconic arts building and increased class off erings. Both will encourage greater involvement in the arts by students and the public.

“This gift empowers the university to tend to the human needs of every member of our community,” said Katie Waugh, head of Art and Design at UAFS. “Cultivating overall wellness is crucial for nurturing a functioning society and arts environment.”

Expanding the Windgate Art & Design building and increasing class off erings will begin in 2023.

“This gift will meaningfully augment every aspect of our department: the ways we educate students in each of our degree programs, the scope of our exhibitions and art collections, and the services and programming we can off er to the River Valley region and broader art communities,” Waugh said.

Increased off erings will aff ect book arts, 3D design, art history, graphic design, gallery and collections, museum preparator training, sculpture, ceramics, and digital fabrication.

UAFS already has one of the best-equipped book arts studios in the region, and a new Book Arts Center will increase public access and advance its study and practice.

The expanded building will feature additional workshop spaces, accessible entrances, and common areas; the new spaces will provide a place for collaborations with students, faculty, alumni, and the public.

UAFS Chancellor Dr. Terisa Riley said everyone can have the level of faith in the university the Windgate Foundation has.

“The faith to invest every penny they can because they know that we do the right things with their money. Because they know at UAFS, we dream together about how to make this entire region better. Because every student we graduate is better for having come here, and every place that has the benefi t of hiring one of these graduates or recruiting them is in a better place because of what they learned here.”

$9.9 Million Gift Will Double Nursing Program

Addressing a critical shortage of health-care providers in this region, $9.9 million of the historic Windgate gift will be dedicated to nearly doubling the UAFS Nursing program.

“This gift has created a new beginning for Nursing at UAFS, allowing us to address one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime, access to health care, by educating and training the registered nurses our community and our region so desperately need,” said Dr. Paula Julian, Executive Director of the UAFS Carolyn McKelvey Moore School of Nursing.

An initial investment of close to $4 million will allow the university to hire 27 additional faculty immediately while expanding and equipping simulation labs. Phase 1 should serve about 200 more students annually in the Bachelor of Science of Nursing (BSN) programs, which include traditional and accelerated options.

“We have a distinctive nursing program known across the state as offering a truly exceptional education,” said UAFS Chancellor Dr. Terisa Riley. “The brightest, most dedicated nursing students in the region choose UAFS because they know they’re going to get the best education.

“But like other universities, we have diffi culty recruiting and retaining exceptional faculty members. Nationally, nursing faculty have been drawn away from academia by high salaries at hospitals and a call to do the important work of caring for patients. So the fi nancial means to recruit and retain devoted educators is critical.

“This is a gift not just to the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. It reaches beyond the campus to absolutely transform the area.”

With the second phase of the investment, the university proposes adding two degrees, an Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN) and an RN-to-BSN pathway. These fl exible degree plans can accommodate the diverse nature of students and needs in the River Valley. Area hospitals are eager to recruit nurses with these degrees.

In the two phases, the university will hire 40 additional faculty members and graduate as many as 300 additional nurses a year.