UAMS Receives $7 Million from Windgate Foundation to Fund Scholarships and Create Endowment
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) received a $7 million grant from the Windgate Foundation, UAMS announced today.
The grant will provide $1 million in funding for 15 full tuition scholarships — three scholarships in each of UAMS’ five colleges — for the class entering in fall 2027, and an additional $1 million for scholarships for the class entering in fall 2028.
This grant also establishes a $5 million endowment to support the newly created Chancellor’s Scholars Program, an initiative for UAMS students that will provide full tuition and fees in UAMS’ five colleges.
“We are inspired by the Windgate Foundation’s commitment to education and healthcare in Arkansas, and we are phenomenally grateful for their continued support of UAMS,” said UAMS Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes, M.D. “It’s beyond words how transformative this endowment is to UAMS, not only in supporting our students but also in uplifting the state’s healthcare system by helping to create a well-educated workforce.”
The Windgate Foundation, based in Little Rock, is a private foundation established in 1993, whose purpose is to advance contemporary craft and strengthen visual arts education in the United States. Education, health, and community initiatives are an additional area of focus in Arkansas.
“The Windgate Foundation is committed to advancing both education and healthcare in Arkansas, and partnering with UAMS is a meaningful way we can make that happen,” said Patricia Forgy, executive director of the Windgate Foundation. “The Chancellor’s Scholarship Program Endowment is about ensuring that people across our state have access to skilled, compassionate healthcare professionals in their own communities, and we look forward to seeing the difference it will make for Arkansas families.”
The Windgate Foundation has partnered with UAMS since 1996 and has made contributions to the College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, the Graduate School, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, the Cord Blood Bank of Arkansas, and endowed chairs in several UAMS departments.
“The need for scholarships in the health professions is greater than ever as the cost of becoming a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or other health professional continues to rise faster than most families can manage. The UAMS Chancellor’s Scholars Program was created last year as a way to address those challenges,” said Stephanie Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D., UAMS provost and chief strategy officer. “For an academic health system, scholarships are not simply financial aid — they are a workforce development strategy, a health improvement strategy, and an investment in Arkansas’ future.”
Chancellor’s Scholars will be selected based on academic merit. Applicants must be Arkansas residents and be admitted to an eligible UAMS academic program beginning in fall 2026. Students who have completed an undergraduate degree outside Arkansas are eligible for scholarships.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,553 students and 1,015 medical residents and fellows. It is the state’s largest public employer with about 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###