SAU announces commitment to endow Dempsey College of Liberal and Performing Arts | News

Joan Dempsey speaks to the SAU faculty and staff after the historic announcement.

Southern Arkansas College is delighted to announce that alumna Joan Dempsey and her partner, Jack Dempsey, are contributing a $1 million reward. In recognition of the significant commitment, the College has renamed the Faculty of Liberal and Doing Arts as the Dempsey Higher education of Liberal and Executing Arts. Proceeds from the endowment will deliver ongoing yearly help for the College or university by scholarships, classroom enrichment, vacation, and college experienced growth.

“The generous reward built by the Dempseys greatly changes the academic encounters we can provide in the College of Liberal and Executing Arts, and the transform will be for generations to occur!” claimed Interim Dean of Liberal and Performing Arts Dr. Deborah Wilson. “When I initially discovered of this unbelievable reward, the words and phrases “game changer” immediately arrived to mind.”

The family’s SAU legacy started with Joan’s father, James A. Riddle, a 1961 graduate. Joan, a 1981 graduate, holds a bachelor’s degree in political science. In 2010, she been given the SAU Distinguished Alumni Award. She and her spouse, Jack, are provided in the Mulerider Society, a providing culture for the University’s most generous benefactors.

“On behalf of SAU, I want to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to Joan and Jack Dempsey for this generous, impactful gift,” claimed President Dr. Trey Berry. “The Dempsey Higher education of Liberal and Doing Arts will proceed SAU’s legacy of giving a well-rounded, excellent, and reasonably priced education and learning to college students although securing the worth of a liberal arts education. Yet again, we are deeply grateful.”

The Dempseys and college associates of the newly renamed Dempsey Higher education of Liberal and Executing Arts.

With 25 yrs of experience operating in the federal authorities as properly as top in the private sector, Dempsey serves on four corporate boards and 1 advisory board. “That basis was laid in Magnolia, Arkansas,” Dempsey reported. “It in no way dawned on me in 1978, sitting down in a political science course at SAU, that one day I’d be managing a billion-dollar small business in a private sector firm or sitting down on the board of 10 billion-dollar providers, assisting them determine out how to improve and deal with business worries like I do nowadays.”

“Every dollar you make investments in SAU has a ripple effect that generates prospects far further than just an person pupil,” Dempsey stated of the initially contribution her relatives designed, “It’s a way to give back again to these communities that nurtured us escalating up and are enduring hard situations. We are thrilled to be able to make this financial commitment.”