Emeritus Faculty Luncheon

On Friday, December 11th, the Walton College hosted its emeritus faculty members at Ella's Restaurant at the Inn at Carnall Hall. This annual event usually takes place during the holidays and gives us the opportunity to share College updates with our retired professors and deans.

Dr. Bob Ellis with Senior Assistant Dean David Hyatt.

Dean Dan Worrell with development officers Renee Brida and Katy Nelson

Renee Brida, Katy Nelson, and Dr. Don & Rosetta Taylor

Dr. Jack White, Dr. Deb Thomas, Dr. James Modisette, Mrs. Wanda Belzung, and Mrs. Marcia McCain

Dr. Bob Hall and Dr. Phillip Taylor


Emeritus faculty members Dr. Don Market and Dr. Tom McKinnon with Senior Associate Dean Bill Curington

Happy Holidays from the Walton College!

Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Inductee: James E. "Jim" Lindsey

Jim Lindsey built a real estate and property management empire across six states.

Jim Lindsey was a member of the 1964 Razorback football team that won the national championship.

On February 12, 2010, the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame will induct four new members. Each of the new inductees has excelled not only in business, but also in helping others. Here is a brief look at James E. “Jim” Lindsey, CEO of Lindsey Management, Inc. and owner and chairman, Lindsey & Associates, Inc.

Jim Lindsey came to the University of Arkansas on a football scholarship and ended up playing on the only Razorback team to win the national championship. It was a win against Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl that determined the championship, and Lindsey caught a critical pass during the game. He said, “I did see the ball coming at the last moment and I just barely turned and it was there. And I just spontaneously caught it and I’ve said a bunch of times that I used to lay in bed and throw the ball up in at night in the dark till my mother and dad would make me put it down. The truth of the matter was that I had caught that pass a thousand times in the dark at my house in Caldwell (Arkansas).”

After college, in 1966, Lindsey moved on to be the number two overall draft pick for the Minnesota Vikings, playing running back from 1966-1972. During the off season, he sold real estate in Northwest Arkansas for J.W. Gabel. In 1966, the 21-year old bought 137 acres in Northwest Arkansas with his $75,000 Vikings signing bonus and a loan from a Forrest City bank. Lindsey said, “The real funny part of that is my dad came up and wanted to see that land before I closed it and he went out and looked at it and he started going slower and slower and slower and he was used to top soil six foot deep in St. Francis County (Elmer Lindsey was a farmer). And he looked me and he said, 'Son, son, son, they’ve handed it to you on a silver platter' - talking about my bonus money from Minnesota - 'and you’ve just pitched it out the window.'” A few years later, Lindsey sold the land for almost six times what he paid to a company that built the Northwest Arkansas Mall on it.

Lindsey took the lessons learned on the football field, combined them with his extraordinary math abilities, and created a real estate and apartment empire across six states. Lindsey Management Co. and Lindsey & Associates are known for their remarkable innovation in apartment complexes and real estate.

For more information on the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame and the other three inductees, Bill Clark, Jerry Jones, and Tommy May, go to: http://gsb.uark.edu/newsreleases.asp?article=725 and http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/abhf/default.asp

Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Walton Alumni

Kelvin Stroud (BSBA '05), Alex Nierling (BSBA '07), and Ricky Beauchamp (BSBA '08) all recently graduated from the Walton College with degrees in Finance and Accounting. While in college, they often recieved coupon books when buying books for the upcoming semester. Many times, these coupon books ended up in the bottom of a book bag, in the consoles of their cars, or in the junk drawer at home, with few, if any, of the coupons being redeemed. That gave them an idea of making an easier form of coupon, through a text message. On CollegeTokens.com and CouponsByText.com, a user can send themselves a free text message coupon, which is redeemed by a user showing the text at a store.

"The Walton College gave us all a great foundation in the different aspects of business," Stroud said. He continued, "While we were all Finance and Accounting majors, we still had a general knowledge in all areas of business because of the Walton College core curriculum."

The business partners consulted with Walton College faculty before starting the business and continue to today. Through Innovate Arkansas, a non-profit dedicated to developing business in Arkansas, Collegetokens.com met Jeff Amerine, a professor of Entrepreneurship and Technology Commercialization. Jeff encouraged them to enter the Arkansas Governor's Cup, which led to Collegetokens.com advancing as one of six finalists in the competition in the spring.

"While students and now as alumni, the Walton College has been extremely helpful for our business," Stroud said. The business has been operating in Fayetteville since August of 2008 and now has over 60 different businesses with deals around Northwest Arkansas on the site.

For more information, contact Kelvin Stroud, Kelvin@CollegeTokens.com, or (501) 690-1899. You can also visit the Collegetokens.com blog at http://collegetokens.wordpress.com.

Diversity Programs Corporate Advisory Board

On Friday, December 11th, the Diversity Programs Corporate Advisory Board met on campus for their biannual meeting. This group of professionals had a busy agenda, and we appreciated them taking the time to spend the day with us.

Our advisory board members gather for a group photo.

Dean Dan Worrell provides a Walton College update.

Dr. Judith Neal with the Tyson Center for Faith & Spirituality in the Workplace presents to the board.

Dr. Moez Limayem, department chair for information systems, describes what his department is doing to increase diversity in the Walton College.

Walton College staff members and advisory board members listen to a presentation from Dr. Limayem.


In the afternoon, the advisory board members broke out into groups for a hands-on activity.

Board members participate in their breakout group activity.

Don Bland, senior managing director for outreach at the Walton College, listens in on one group's conversations.

Dr. Barbara Lofton provides input to another group during their breakout session.

To learn more about the Walton College's Office of Diversity Programs, please visit their web site at http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/diversity.

Making the Most of Your Alumni Network (Continued)

Laura Katherine Schembri (BSBA ’05) and Taylor Atwood (BSBA ’06) are two alumni from the Walton College’s Portfolio Management Class who know how to make the most out of their alumni network. These two graduates (who both live in Dallas) work in the highly-competitive finance industry and want current Walton College students to realize how valuable their alumni networks can be for future job success.

Part one in this two part series with Laura Katherine and Taylor discusses the importance of students utilizing their alumni network to obtain jobs after graduation. Part two will discuss tips to make networking even more successful.

Part Two: Three Tips for Successful Networking

Be Persistent - Laura Katherine cites persistence as one of the most important qualities for networking success. “Sometimes, when trying to contact someone at a senior level, you may have to contact them quite a few times,” she said. “People are busy, but you have to be persistent.”

Be Professional – Taylor believes professionalism is a key quality as well. He reminds students that, many times, they will be leaving voicemails and sending emails to alumni in the hopes of receiving a response. Therefore, student voicemails on call-back numbers should be professional, as well as business cards (even homemade) that are given out to contacts. He continues by stating that resumes are important as well. Both he and Laura Katherine encourage students to have someone read over and review their resumes – even several people. Taylor also notes that resumes will look different depending on your chosen major. To address this, Laura Katherine recommends that someone in your chosen profession review the resume.

Be Flexible and Courageous – If possible, Laura Katherine recommends meeting people in person. If an alumnus or alumna is in your area, offer to meet him or her for lunch or coffee. You can offer to visit them at their office as well! Because of this, they will be more likely to remember you. She notes, “You should go out of your way to meet them. They are important to you and you will show them how ambitious you are. Don’t be scared! Don’t be afraid to email and ask to meet or ask for someone’s advice.” Taylor concludes by stating, “Confidence encompasses all of this. It takes courage to go to someone’s office.”

Walton College Alumni Society Fall Board Meeting

On November 19th, the Walton College Alumni Society hosted a networking reception at Creegan's Irish Pub in North Little Rock. About 20-30 of our alumni and friends in the central Arkansas area turned out to mingle and make connections.

Sandra Winston (BSBA '84) and Kim McLemore

Dean Dan Worrell and WCAS President Chuck Dudley (BSBA '76 & MBA '77) with Diane Huston and Pat Hurst (BSBA '73)

Pam McGill (BSBA '89 & MBA '90), Terri Ayers (BSBA '88), and Katy Nelson

Doug Voss (BSBA '99 & MTLM '02) and Jason Campbell (BSBA '97)

The next day, the Walton College Alumni Society Board of Directors met at US Bank in North Little Rock for their fall board meeting. Two new board members, Brianna Gamble (BSBA '08) and Weston Lewey (BSBA '85), were introduced. Dean Dan Worrell provided a Walton College update, and Debbie Blume (BSBA '08) with the Arkansas Alumni Association gave a membership report.

Dean Dan Worrell provides an update to the board.

Board members Heather Nelson (BSBA '94), Steven Hinds (BSPA '89), and Greg Nabholz (BSBA '88 & MBA '90) discuss board activities and membership with Arkansas Alumni Association staff member Debbie Blume (BSBA '08).

Board members Weston Lewey (BSBA '85), Marty Clark (BSBA '91), Brianna Gamble (BSBA '08), and Tim Higginbotham (BSBA '87) visit during lunch.

If you are not a current member of the Arkansas Alumni Association, please consider renewing or joining today! It's easy and can be done online here!

Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Inductee: William E. “Bill” Clark

One of CDI's most notable projects was the William J. Clinton Presidential Library completed in 2004.

Bill Clark and his son, William, not only spent time on the golf course together, but also William followed his father into the construction business.

On February 12, 2010, the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame will induct four new members. Each of the new inductees has excelled not only in business, but also in helping others. Here is a brief look at Bill Clark, former chairman and CEO of CDI Contractors.

William E. “Bill” Clark founded CDI Contractors in 1987 ─ in a 50-50 partnership with Dillard’s Inc. Through his extraordinary leadership, he built CDI into one of Arkansas’ largest general contractors, completing buildings across the United States.

One of the most notable projects his firm built was the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in 2004. Clark’s son William, who has followed his father’s footsteps in the construction industry with his own company, Clark Contractors LLC, recently gave an interview about his father’s life and accomplishments to the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Oral and Visual History. He said, “When we got the call that we got the Clinton Library, it was the crown jewel of my Dad’s business career. I remember during the construction of the Clinton Library, when we got to a year out from the grand opening and all the living presidents were going to be in attendance, basically the world was coming to Little Rock, and they put a sign on the top of the Library that said 365 days to open. Every single morning someone would go on top of the building and change the number, and everybody that drove by the Clinton Library on Interstate 30 knew exactly how many days we had left until the library was open. We had a lot of work to left to do in that last year, but my dad felt confident that we could do it, but his pulse was up a little a bit. As it was, we turned over the project a couple of weeks early.”

William Clark described his father’s management style: he hired quality people, had them properly trained, paid them well, took care of them, and let them do their job without interference from him. That went from the top of the corporate ladder to the bottom. William Clark said, “He also came up with a blue collar background himself. He knew those guys on the front line actually made those jobs happen. He did everything he could to make sure they were treated fairly as well. Everybody that worked for him had great respect for him.” Clark passed away in 2007.

For more information on the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame and the other three inductees, Jerry Jones, Jim Lindsey and Tommy May, go to: http://gsb.uark.edu/newsreleases.asp?article=725 and http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/abhf/default.asp.

2009 Scholarship Reception

On Friday, November 13, the Walton College hosted its annual Scholarship Reception. Themed “A is for Achievement,” the event celebrated the achievements of our student scholarship recipients, as well as the donors who have so generously made our scholarships possible. The event provided a rare opportunity for donors to meet their scholarship recipients and see in person the fantastic caliber of students the Walton College has. A great time was had by all, mingling and enjoying some delicious hors d’oeuvres. We’re already looking forward to next year’s event!