Plans announced for $1 million gift to UA from electric company executive

FAYETTEVILLE — A $1 million planned gift from an electric company executive will support the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society at the University of Arkansas.

Brian Wolff, executive vice president of public policy and external affairs for the Washington-based Edison Electric Institute, has committed to giving in support of a center named after a mentor, according to UA.

The Edison Electric Institute represents investor-owned electric companies in the United States.

Wolff, a Pine Bluff native and UA graduate, previously worked as an aide for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and also as leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, according to The Washington Post.

Blair, an author and professor who held various political appointments, died in 2000. The center named after her was created in 2001 with a $3 million U.S. Congressional appropriation.

Angie Maxwell, the center’s director, said Wolff’s gift will support research studying “past and present political culture.” Wolff said he hopes the gift will support an endowed chair for center faculty.

“We’re still captivated by the complexity of the South and the entrenched beliefs of its people,” Wolff said. “There are broad misunderstandings and misconceptions about the South, and the work being done by Angie Maxwell and the Blair Center will stand the test of time. This gift will sustain that work into the future.”