UA gift puts focus on health, business

FAYETTEVILLE — A $500,000 gift from a Dallas couple will support University of Arkansas, Fayetteville students working on collaborative projects involving both health care and business.

The Kelly and Steve Barnes Health and Wellbeing Innovation Fund seeks to back multidisciplinary design teams, according to UA’s announcement of the gift.

Such teams would work on models for services and products, as well as how they might be delivered, and also on policies for the health and wellness industry, according to the university. The gift will help pay for workshops and other learning opportunities for students, and the effort will be guided by an advisory council to include industry representatives.

Kelly Barnes is an executive at PricewaterhouseCoopers, working as the U.S. health industries and global health industries consulting leader. Her husband worked for more than 20 years as a registered nurse. Both attended high school in Hot Springs and earned degrees from UA.

“This generous gift from Kelly and Steve Barnes means Walton College students will work on innovative solutions to improve [the] health and well-being for the people of Arkansas and the nation,” Matt Waller, dean of UA’s Sam M. Walton College of Business, said in a statement.

Jennifer Holland, UA’s director of development communications, said the student-led design teams will be forming this fall.