A U of A alumni plans a scholarship fund that offers $250,000

By: Reagan Hubbard

A U of A graduate, Kent Gray, has created a plan to provide a scholarship opportunity for students called the Kent Gray Endowed Scholarship Fund. The recipients of this planned gift will receive $250,000. 

Inspiration to create this fund came from Gray’s gratitude to the U of A for his career and his desire to provide aid for other students to have similar opportunities. He attributes his ability to work for prominent accounting companies to the degree he earned while at our university. 

“I had excellent professors who helped me get started, and I thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from my time at the university. It was a quality education, for any cost, and was especially affordable. Students today, though, struggle with the affordability of higher education, and I wanted to do my part to help multiple students be able to get a solid education like I had. They deserve to graduate and not be saddled with enormous debt, so that’s where my scholarship comes in.”

The scholarship fund will go to supporting U of A students in the undergraduate program who have indicated financial instability. Up to three scholarships will be granted annually. 

After graduating from the Sam M. Walton College of Business Kent Gray went on to dedicate over 25 years in the staffing and recruiting industry. He has worked for companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Schulmberger, and Kforce. 

Gray resides in the state of California but is a Fayetteville native.