UA at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History Receives $2.25 to Preserve Legacy of Governor Rockefeller

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History has received a $2.25 million donation from the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust to help preserve the legacy of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller.

Governor Winthrop Rockefeller

As a way to honor Rockefeller and his contributions to the state of Arkansas, the Rockefeller Collection was created in 1980. It is the Little Rock Center’s largest collection with more than 2,000 boxes consisting of papers, memorabilia and historical records.

The gift will go towards preserving items in the collection as well as creating experiential learning opportunities and research initiatives for local undergraduate students.

Additionally, the center plans to include more archives of underrepresented groups as well as digitize the collections.

“Our archival collections can become a more complete reflection of the state’s people and organizations,” said Deborah Baldwin, director of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture and associate provost for collections and archives. “Scholars can better explore the ‘why’ questions of history with more complete information. This gift will make a difference. Positive change is a hallmark of Winthrop Rockefeller’s work. Behind all of these initiatives is our goal to inspire people to engage with Arkansas history and the future it maps for us.”