Winter / Spring 2007 - University of Arkansas at Monticello

20
News
UAM MAGAZINE Foundation
Matthews Gives First Endowment for Women’s Athletics
B
etty Matthews isn’t your typical
college English professor.
An avid sports fan, particularly
of the athletic teams of the University
of Arkansas at Monticello, Matthews
admits to having a soft spot in her heart
for student-athletes who excel in the
classroom and on the playing field.
A member of the UAM faculty since
967 and a graduate of what was then
Arkansas A&M College in 958, Matthews
recently presented an endowed
scholarship for women’s athletics to the
UAM Foundation Fund.
The scholarship is the second gift
earmarked specifically for women’s
athletics and the first to reach endowed
status.
“I have always been a sports fan for
as long as I can remember,” said Matthews.
“I love the Boll Weevils and Cotton
Blossoms, but I have a special place
in my heart for the women’s athletic
program here. I have always believed
that female athletes should have the
same opportunities as male athletes
and I wanted to give something back
to the university to help young women
achieve their goals.”
The Betty A. Matthews Women’s
Athletics Scholarship will be presented
to a student participating in women’s
intercollegiate athletics. The recipient
must have a grade point average of 3.0
or better in any academic major and
must be recommended by the director
of athletics and coaches of the women’s
athletic teams.
Matthews comes from a family of
athletes. Matthews played basketball at
Star City High School while her daugh-
Dr. Betty Matthews (center) visits with UAM Chancellor Jack Lassiter (left) and Athletics Director Alvy Early after presenting
an endowed scholarship for women’s athletics to the UAM Foundation Fund.
ter-in-law, Diane Mathews, qualified for
the U.S. Olympic Diving Team in 980
but was unable to compete due to the
U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics.
Her son, Hank, was an all-conference
quarterback at Star City High School.
Her granddaughter, Courtney Matthews,
is currently an all-state soccer
player at Shiloh Christian Academy in
Springdale.
Matthews was one of the first
women to achieve full professorship
status at UAM.
“I hope that by making this gift
Foundation Receives Bequest From Texas Man
UAM has received a bequest of
$ 0,000 from the estate of W.F.
Chumney of Nacogdoches, Texas.
Mr. Chumney’s wife, Ruth Mildred
Melton Chumney, attended what was
then Arkansas A&M College from 943
to 944. The bequest will honor the
memory of Mrs. Chumney’s parents,
the late Arhia Raymond Melton and
Mildred Richardson Melton.
The funds will be used to establish
the Arhia Raymond Melton and Mildred
Richardson Melton Scholarship to
benefit students from Bradley County,
Arkansas. The fund will be invested
and re-invested until it reaches the
endowed level of $ 5,000. At that time,
the scholarship will be available from
endowment earnings.
Recipients must be full-time students
in any academic major and will be
selected by the UAM Scholarship Com-
that I can encourage others to support
the dreams and aspirations of young
women who excel in both academics
and athletics,” said Matthews.
The first endowed scholarship fund
for women’s athletics was established
in 994 by Drs. Glen and Mary Jane Gilbert.
When the fund reaches endowed
status, it will provide a scholarship for
women’s basketball. Mary Jane Gilbert
was the first coach of the UAM Cotton
Blossoms basketball team and instrumental
in the establishment of women’s
athletics at UAM.
mittee. Scholarships from this fund will
be used toward the cost of tuition, fees,
room, board, and/or books for at least
one recipient.
“We are grateful to Mr. Chumney
for remembering the university with
this generous gift,” said UAM Chancellor
Jack Lassiter. “This is a wonderful
way to honor his wife’s parents and
create educational opportunities for
future generatons.”