Arkansas Tech University received a $3.15 million gift from the Windgate Foundation to expand scholarships and provide immediate financial assistance to students. The ATU Foundation will direct $3 million of the gift to the Windgate General Endowed Scholarship and the Sue M. Frueauff Memorial Endowed Scholarship.
The remaining $150,000 will help students facing immediate financial gaps that could otherwise prevent them from continuing their studies.
The latest contribution brings the Windgate Foundation’s total giving to the ATU Foundation to more than $9 million since 2018.
Previous support has expanded educational opportunities in visual arts and nursing, created pathways for students pursuing medical degrees, supported artists in residence, and provided professional development for art educators.
Approximately 43% of Arkansas Tech students are first-generation college students.
About 57% come from low-income backgrounds and 94% are Arkansas residents.
Arkansas Tech enrolled more than 9,500 students across its Russellville and Ozark campuses for fall 2026.
KEY QUOTES:
“This latest gift will help Arkansas Tech meet one of its foundational objectives: ensuring access to higher education. Scholarships change lives, and due to the generosity of our partners at the Windgate Foundation, many lives will be changed for the better at Arkansas Tech in the years and decades to come.”
Dr. Russell Jones, President of Arkansas Tech University
“This $3.15 million gift from the Windgate Foundation will have a generational effect on the families and the state that Arkansas Tech serves.”
Bryan Fisher, Vice President for Advancement and Executive Vice President of the ATU Foundation
