School Saved By Donation

Officials of the University of the Ozarks say the Clarksville school was saved from possible collapse and closure by a gift from the Walton Family Foundation. The gift of 39.5 million dollars was announced in 1998. Since then, university officials say the school has been transformed. Enrollment on the small campus has increased by 38 percent since 1998, from 530 students to 731. Faculty salaries, once extremely low, are now competitive with similar institutions. The dormitories and classroom buildings have been expanded and renovated. That`s a big difference from the early 1990s, when enrollment was shrinking, a budget deficit was growing and the classroom buildings and dormitories were run-down. Rick Niece, president of the school since 1997, recalls that there were three or four times when people were looking to close the doors. He now credits Helen Walton, a member of the university`s board and the widow of Sam Walton, as the catalyst behind the school-saving gift in 1998. Posted by Mike Hellgren