UA putting on $450,000 bash

Gift to foot bill falls through, but more private cash found

Invitations for the Campaign Arkansas Gala at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville promise a black-tie affair, and it will be one of the most expensive private parties ever held at UA. An anonymous donor who had promised $500,000 to underwrite the bash redirected the donation to scholarships, but the $450,000 party will go on with other private funds.
Invitations for the Campaign Arkansas Gala at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville promise a black-tie affair, and it will be one of the most expensive private parties ever held at UA. An anonymous donor who had promised $500,000 to underwrite the bash redirected the donation to scholarships, but the $450,000 party will go on with other private funds.

The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville will host a $450,000 party Friday night at Bud Walton Arena for about 400 invited donors and staff members.

photo

“One of the things we did was scale back,” UA Chancellor Joe Steinmetz said Friday of next weekend’s fundraising gala. He said he didn’t recall the original price tag for the event.

photo

Laura Jacobs, chief of staff at the University of Arkansas, speaks Tuesday, March 29, 2016, in her office on the campus of the University in Fayetteville.

photo

Chris Wyrick

photo

Fred Smith, chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation

photo

Mark Rushing, spokesman for the University of Arkansas

The Campaign Arkansas Gala dinner and reception will combine lighting, projections and audio, along with artificial grass, trees and other props to re-create the campus's historic centerpiece -- Old Main and its lawn -- under day and nighttime skies.

The black-tie gathering features a four-course menu, including parmesan lime corn crabcakes and filet Oscar.

It's one of the most expensive private parties ever at UA, and it's one of several weekend events to kick off the final five-year stretch of the university's $1 billion Campaign Arkansas fundraiser.

[DOCUMENT: UA fundraising gala invitation + breakdown of costs, dinner menu]

No public funds are being used, a university spokesman said. But the party has had some hitches.

Several significant donors, volunteers and invitees have expressed concern that the bash costs too much, according to documents and interviews obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

That's raised questions, in turn, about the university's spending priorities.

"Maybe there should be consideration given to cancelling the Gala," university donor and former Fayetteville banker Hayden McIlroy wrote in an Aug. 2 email to Chancellor Joe Steinmetz. McIlroy wrote that he didn't plan to attend and added that "a lot of people are unhappy with what they perceive to be the priorities of the UofA."

In a recent interview, McIlroy said he had expressed disapproval earlier of the university's planned $160 million expansion of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

[DOCUMENT: Production company's proposal for UA gala]

"I thought it set a bad example when you have student tuition fees going up, students living on charity and welfare, and professors leaving because of the pay scales," he said. "I also feel like the $500,000 or whatever it's costing for the gala could be put to better use."

Steinmetz wrote back: "I can assure you my priorities are not in athletics and galas, and that I [am] working hard to find ways to keep the U of A experience affordable for our students."

Among other headaches, an anonymous donor who initially promised $500,000 to pay for the party decided to redirect that gift elsewhere, university officials acknowledge. Other private money had to be found.

And as recently as six weeks ago, Steinmetz and Chief of Staff Laura Jacobs contemplated postponing the gala and the weekend of fundraising events until the spring, according to public records the newspaper requested under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

They wound up going on with the show but cutting costs.

"One of the things we did was scale it back," Steinmetz said Friday.

Asked how much higher was the party's $450,000 price tag before it was scaled back, Steinmetz said: "I don't recall that figure."

'Call into question'

The reception and dinner party isn't the only weekend event connected with Campaign Arkansas.

Thursday night features a concert by The Commodores, a Grammy-winning R&B and funk group, and a VIP reception. A "Billion Dollar Pre-Game Party" at the chancellor's house and a garden and conservatory dedication is scheduled for Saturday.

Steinmetz said Friday that he long had been concerned about the "overall cost of the events" for the fundraising kickoff weekend -- "particularly the gala."

A couple of months after taking the chancellor post Jan. 1, he knew he wanted changes, Steinmetz said. His goal was "an inclusive, wide-ranging" weekend that drew more students, parents and alumni, as well as donors.

The gala drew more public scrutiny with the Aug. 1 resignation of the school's chief fundraiser, Chris Wyrick.

Wyrick's departure, effective Nov. 30, generated support and criticism, public records show.

The announcement also stirred worries that the resignation could affect the Campaign Arkansas kickoff.

Steinmetz said he expected the reaction after what he calls a "mutual decision" by the university and Wyrick to part company.

"Like every decision that's made, we heard from a lot of people," the chancellor said.

The chief fundraiser's job is especially sensitive, he said, because it involves close relationships with big donors.

Among Wyrick supporters was Fred Smith, chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, a donor that has its name on Razorback Stadium.

"It is with great sadness that I read of your departure from the University of Arkansas," Smith wrote in an Aug. 4 letter to Wyrick, which he copied to Steinmetz. Smith praised Wyrick's "attention to detail and your personal commitment."

"Your sudden departure will call into question any possibility of future support of the academic programs or athletics that we may have been considering for the university," Smith wrote.

Fulbright College Campaign fundraising member Jay McDonald was one of those who wrote Steinmetz to "applaud your action with Chris Wyrick."

His Aug. 2 note also suggested "we reconsider the Gala extravaganza."

McDonald added he would understand "if the train is too far down the track."

Steinmetz declined to address donors' or staff communications about Wyrick's tenure, saying he couldn't talk about personnel matters.

But the chancellor acknowledged hearing worries about the gala expense.

Wyrick didn't address remarks about the cost or his three-year tenure in the top fundraising job. He did say in a statement Friday that his division raised $131 million last year for the school and converted the department's $3 million spending deficit of past years into a $1 million-plus surplus.

"I love the University of Arkansas and leave the job with my head held high," he wrote.

'Not crushed'

It's unclear from the record when, or why, an anonymous donor redirected his $500,000 gift from the gala and other fundraising events to scholarship support.

University officials declined to name the donor or say why he ordered that the money be spent differently.

"Our generous benefactors are free to designate their gifts in any way they choose," school spokesman Mark Rushing wrote.

Public records show that on Aug. 4, three days after the Wyrick resignation announcement, Steinmetz was debating whether to proceed with the gala and other fundraising events scheduled six weeks away. And he was looking at costs.

In emails to his chief of staff, Jacobs, Steinmetz suggested five options.

Among them: "We move the Gala to the spring and launch the campaign then," he wrote. "This has the advantage of separating the event from football and giving us a chance to scale back and plan additionally."

Other Steinmetz ideas included cutting back Saturday events at Fowler House, the name of the chancellor's home, and recasting Thursday's Commodores concert into "a true Alumni Association event for alums, memberships, parents and students."

Another cost-cutting possibility wasn't related to Campaign Arkansas weekend, but an investiture ceremony where universities officially honor new chancellors.

"We could consider canceling the investiture -- probably a bad time to be spending money given the scrutiny we are under -- I am not crushed," Steinmetz wrote to Jacobs.

But Steinmetz concluded, he said Friday, that the fundraising staff was solid and set to go under interim Vice Chancellor for Advancement Mark Power. So campaign Arkansas events remain scheduled for this weekend.

Meanwhile, the university opened The Commodores concert to parents, students and alumni. The Arkansas Alumni Association is paying for it.

Steinmetz's office is contributing, "mostly in support of the dedication of the Fowler House Garden and Conservatory" on Saturday, school spokesman Rushing wrote in response to the newspaper's questions.

And officials lined up different financing for Friday's gala dinner party.

The Advancement Division and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics are splitting the cost, Rushing wrote Friday.

"No public funds are being used," he added.

'Not opulent'

University officials say that when the dinner party concludes Friday night -- after a round of Autumn Berry Short Cake, spun sugar and vanilla whipped cream -- its cost won't be out of line with similar gatherings at other institutions.

In the Aug. 4 emails with Steinmetz, Jacobs wrote: "The Gala isn't as over the top as rumor would have it.

"Is it expensive and special, designed to leave a lasting impression with key donors? Yes, but it's not opulent. Some of the bells and whistles can be scaled back even more to further reduce that."

Steinmetz said Friday that he asked for research into costs of similar fundraising events for universities of the size and aspirations of UA.

That research showed the gala's $450,000 price tag falls somewhere in the middle, he said.

"I think everybody would tell you I'm pretty cost-conscious," Steinmetz said.

His priority is providing money for "the academic mission, which is after all why we're here."

Steinmetz recalled the purpose of the gala and all the weekend's Campaign Arkansas events: To open the final phase of a $1 billion fundraiser -- money to lift the state's largest university academically.

"You use funds," Steinmetz said, "to launch something that will generate more funds. I'm not afraid to make that commitment."

SundayMonday on 09/11/2016

Upcoming Events