UAPB to Honor Eight at Chancellor’s Scholarship Gala during Founders Week

Gala Returns after 3-Year Hiatus, Alumni Bookers to Host

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) will continue its year-long sesquicentennial celebration during Founders Week April 17-23. The theme for the 150^th anniversary, Mission Milestones Memories, will permeate throughout campus activities, including the Chancellor’s Scholarship Gala on Saturday, April 22 at the Pine Bluff Country Club, 1100 W 46th Ave. in Pine Bluff. Mr. Calvin Booker ’79 and Mrs. Janetta Booker ‘83 will host the Gala where eight individuals will be recognized for their exemplary record of service to the community. The black-tie event begins at 6pm with a reception and silent auction followed by dinner and the awards ceremony at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for the gala are $250 per person and may be purchased by calling 870.575.8701 or 870.575.8703.

Themed “A Night in ‘Nawlins,” the annual gala returns after a three-year pause due to COVID-19. Proceeds from the event will fund scholarships for UAPB students and is brought to you by West Fraser, Calvin and Janetta Booker, Waste Management, Perry and Vivian Stuckey, and The Design Group.

Mr. Booker, a Hamburg native who earned a bachelor’s degree in education from UAPB and a Master’s in secondary education from Prairie View A&M University, is a retired Corporate Vice President of Public Affairs for the Southern Group of Waste Management Inc. In that role, he was responsible for the organizational development and strategic implementation of Governmental Affairs, Community Relations and Communications programs across 12 Southeastern states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Mrs. Booker, from Pine Bluff, holds dual degrees from UAPB in institutional dietetics and nursing and has more than forty years of health care delivery experience as a practitioner and as the former owner of Quality First Home Health Services, Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas. She now serves as a Health Insurance Specialist for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medical Services. Mrs. Booker also holds licenses as a registered dietitian, registered nurse, a Realtor®, and a Certified Federal Surveyor.

“I commend our honorees for their dedication to our community and university and look forward to celebrating each of them as we also use this opportunity to collectively lift the financial burden from deserving students,” Chancellor Dr. Laurence B. Alexander said. “I am also extremely grateful to our sponsors and host for their continued support of UAPB. As we commemorate our sesquicentennial, I am heartened by the coming together of both corporations and individuals who continue raising the bar in demonstrating their love for Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.”

The eight honorees include:

Retired Simmons Bank Executive Pat Anderson will be honored for his stellar record of community involvement and volunteerism, service to mankind, and philanthropic work on behalf of Simmons Bank;
Dr. Donald Bobbitt, President of the University of Arkansas System, and
Mrs. Susan Bobbitt, long-time educator, for their outstanding careers in the field of education, support of the arts, and advancement of opportunities for others;
Dr. Stephen Broughton ‘79, Practicing Psychiatrist at Southeast Arkansas Behavioral Healthcare Systems and Trustee Emeritus of the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees, and
Dr. Cheryl Broughton, retired Pharmacist Manager at Jefferson Regional Medical Center, for their exemplary careers promoting healthy lifestyles, service to the community and UAPB, and for advancing the cause of the underserved;
Darryl Daniels, Co-founder of Jacobsen | Daniels, an airport consulting firm he launched in 2001 with a work colleague, Brad Jacobsen. The firm, Jacobsen Daniels Associates, grew from the 2 of them to approximately 200 hundred employees to become one of the leading airport consulting companies in the country; and
Perry Stuckey ‘88, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Eastman Chemical Company, for his stellar career in the corporate sector and advancing UAPB; and
Mrs. Vivian Stuckey ‘79, retired Social Security Administration Claims Representative, together for their extraordinary dedication and service to Dear Mother.

Visit UAPB.edu for a full list of Founders Week activities.