Four students from University of Arkansas System campuses have earned grants from an endowment honoring James L. “Skip” Rutherford III, dean emeritus of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.
“It was a very competitive pool in the award’s inaugural year with over 100 applications from 9 campuses across the UA system,” said Eric Wilson, Chairman of the James L. “Skip” Rutherford III Endowment Committee. “We were impressed by the overall need and interest. I think Dean Rutherford would be pleased with the diversity and quality of the applicants and recipients.”
Those receiving grants include (bios below): Ophelia Akoto (Clinton School of Public Service), Michael Anthony (UA-Fayetteville), Rebecca de la Fuente, (UACC-Batesville) and Brian Neel (UA-Little Rock).
The endowment was established in 2021 at the University of Arkansas Foundation to honor Rutherford and provide support to student leaders across the UA System. This is the first year for grants to be awarded from the fund. Contributions to the fund are tax deductible and can be made online by selecting “Skip Rutherford Student Leadership Endowment” in the drop-down menu or mailing a check to the Clinton School at 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, AR 72201.
“We are grateful to all of the donors to the endowment,” Wilson said. “These four recipients were exactly the kind of people we envisioned helping when we had the idea to create this program. Dean Rutherford has helped students as a teacher and mentor throughout his life and career and we hope these mini grants are a fitting tribute to him.”
The grants were awarded by an independent committee appointed by Dr. Michael Moore, UA System vice president for academic affairs, in accordance with the terms of the endowment. Each spring, undergraduate and graduate students from any UA System campus will have the chance to apply for the grant.
More on the awardees:
Ophelia Akoto, a native of Ghana, is completing her Master of Public Service at the Clinton School and will use her grant funds for travel and equipment to utilize in the pursuit of her Ph.D. in social policy at Brandeis University. She is a research aficionado and prioritizes research that can help her community. During her time at the Clinton School she has served as a counselor to other international students, advocating for their needs to student government and school administration.
Michael Anthony is a Ph.D. candidate in history at UA-Fayetteville and will use his grant to help fund his research into the Catcher Race Riot of 1923. An essay he wrote on the riot won the Arkansas Historical Association’s 2021 Lucille Westbrook Award, one of the top prizes for state history. Anthony is a graduate assistant in the Department of History, teaches U.S. and Arkansas history, and is the assistant head coach of the UA-Fayetteville men’s club soccer team.
Rebecca de la Fuente, a single mother to five children, has taken a non-traditional journey through higher education and is currently working on her two-year degree at UACCB. She is active on campus through the student government and other groups and volunteers to help other single mothers through the Pregnancy Help Center in Ash Flat. She plans to use her grant funds to purchase a new laptop computer for school and for new tires for her vehicle, which she relies on to commute to campus.
Brian Neel, of Pine Bluff, is pursuing his M.A. in history at UA-Little Rock and plans to use his grant money to help fund his research for his master’s thesis on the Ralph Bunche community, a predominantly Black neighborhood in Benton. Funds will help pay for his equipment and travel for the oral history project, which will explore the impact of segregation and desegregation on the community. Neel has worked as media team supervisor for Wehco Video in Bryant and is currently working as a media buyer for Ron Sherman Advertising in Little Rock.