FAYETTEVILLE -- Acclaimed novelist Charles Portis and philanthropists Wallace and Jama Fowler will receive honorary degrees from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
All are Arkansas natives, and the honors will be conferred May 12 at UA's All-University Commencement ceremony in Bud Walton Arena.
The guest speaker at the event will be Sherece West-Scantlebury, president and chief executive officer of the Little Rock-based Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.
Because of ill health, Portis will not be in attendance to receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, said UA spokesman Steve Voorhies. Accepting the honor will be his brother, Jonathan.
"Charles, as a proud graduate, is deeply grateful to the University of Arkansas," Jonathan Portis said in an email.
Charles Portis lives in Little Rock and is unable to travel, his brother said.
Portis, 84, earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from UA in 1958. He worked as a journalist for publications including the New York Herald Tribune, then returned to Arkansas to write novels.
His books include True Grit, adapted twice into widely released movies. Honors for Portis include the Oxford American's Lifetime Achievement in Southern Literature award, which he received in 2010. He also received a lifetime achievement award in 2014 as part of the Porter Prize honors for writers with Arkansas ties.
Portis was born in El Dorado and attended high school in Hamburg, both in south Arkansas. As a Marine during the Korean War, Portis earned the rank of sergeant. Afterward, he enrolled at UA.
Jonathan Portis said a small biography included in works by his brother always notes that he is a UA graduate.
"As the novels have been reprinted over the years, the biography has never changed and the University is always mentioned. As his name is inscribed on a UA sidewalk, the University's name is inscribed in each of his novels," said Jonathan Portis, referring to UA's Senior Walk tradition of inscribing the names of graduates on campus sidewalks.
Wallace Fowler was born in Manila, in northeast Arkansas, while Jama Fowler was born in Amity, about 30 miles southwest of Hot Springs, according to information from the university.
The couple met when Wallace Fowler was serving in the Army and stationed at Fort Smith. The two married in 1955, according to UA. They became active in business, eventually launching the Bank of Jonesboro and expanding it into Liberty Bank.
The couple created the Wallace and Jama Fowler Charitable Foundation, which supports hospitals and health care facilities. Other philanthropic efforts include gifts of $5 million to Arkansas State University for a performing arts center and $5 million to the NEA Baptist Charitable Foundation for a cancer care center.
The Fowlers -- who live in Jonesboro -- have also given to UA, including $4.68 million for a chancellor's residence and events building. Among other gifts, the Fowlers gave $2.5 million for an indoor track and baseball training facility.
West-Scantlebury has led the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation for the past 10 years. The foundation works to improve the lives of Arkansans by giving to support economic development, education, and economic, racial and social justice.
During West-Scantlebury's leadership, the foundation has provided more than $40 million in financial support to various endeavors.
West-Scantlebury, raised in inner-city Baltimore, was the first in her family to attend college and has worked for 25 years with philanthropic organizations, according to UA.
Metro on 04/12/2018