Bank of America Donates $22,000 to Further UAMS Diversity Programs
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Donnie Cook, president, Central Arkansas, Bank of America, at the center of the group, presents a donation for UAMS student programs to UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D. (fourth from right) and Billy Thomas, M.D. (far left). Others in the photo include (from left) Braylon Camper, Kennedy Leverett, Valerie Camper, Randall Walker, Taylor Washington and Patricia Edgerson.
Aug. 13, 2013 | Bank of America continued its long history of support for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) with a $22,000 corporate foundation gift given to the UAMS Center for Diversity Affairs (CDA) at an Aug. 6 presentation.
The check was presented by Donnie Cook, president, Central Arkansas, Bank of America, to UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., and Billy Thomas, M.D., vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion.
“Thanks to Bank of America, our student diversity programs will continue to thrive,” Rahn said. “Their support will make a positive impact on diversity at UAMS, Arkansas medical students and their health careers.”
Other guests at the presentation included Patricia Edgerson, CDA director of outreach; Lance Burchett, UAMS vice chancellor for institutional advancement; Stephen J. Schafer, Ph.D., UAMS executive director of development for corporations and foundations; Kennedy Leverett, Bridging the Gap participant; Braylon Camper, ACT Preparation participant; Valerie Camper; Taylor Washington, USSEP I participant; and Randall Walker, a former USSEP II participant now entering his third year of study in the UAMS College of Medicine.
The CDA outreach programs benefit students throughout Arkansas. Walker, a native of Lake Village and a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, participated in the USSEP II program. The USSEP II program is a MCAT preparation program that provides learning skills, application assistance, admissions information and exposure to shadowing experiences with health professionals. He also served as a counselor and instructor to later USSEP classes and is an example of the potential these outreach programs hold.
Bank of America has given more than $300,000 to UAMS in recent years and has given CDA support for the past two years. Their gifts have supported programs with the goal of recruitment, retention and graduation of students, particularly economically disadvantaged students, to meet the future medical needs of the state.
The gift will provide support for CDA summer enrichment programs. These programs are designed to strengthen science, math, literacy and test-taking skills. In addition, these programs give the students an introduction to the many health career options at UAMS and include mentored research, the Summer Science Discovery Program, Bridging the Gap, ACT Preparation, USSEP I and USSEP II. More than 180 students were exposed to health careers in the UAMS colleges of Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and the Graduate School.
Bank of America has also given support for programs that serve low-to-moderate-income populations at the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and Department of Family and Preventive Medicine.