Scholarship gift for diversity head

FAYETTEVILLE — A University of Arkansas, Fayetteville scholarship is being created in honor of Barbara Lofton, a longtime UA leader for diversity initiatives described by one alumna as a leading campus champion for Black students.

“This scholarship will be an enduring, meaningful resource that helps students from diverse backgrounds succeed,” Matt Waller, dean of UA’s Sam M. Walton College of Business, said in announcing the scholarship as a surprise to Lofton, according to the university.

Lofton leads the Walton College’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion and has done so since creation of the office in 1994.

She is the college’s assistant dean for diversity and inclusion.

Fundraising is ongoing for the scholarship, with the family of businessman Gerald Alley providing up to $50,000 in matching support.

Alley, a UA alumnus, and two of his children, Gina and Byron, praised Lofton.

“When I was in school, you were literally the biggest champion for Black students on campus — no matter what college they were in,” Gina Alley said, according to UA.

The Dr. Barbara A. Lofton Endowed Scholarship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will go to undergraduate students studying in the Walton College.

Depending on fundraising, the four-year, renewable award will be given out starting in the 2022-23 school year, a spokesman said.

Criteria for the award include academic distinction, financial need and “whether the student’s ethnic, cultural, or geographic background, or demonstrated interest in a particular field of study, contributes to the diversity of the Walton College student body,” Waller said in a statement.