New U of A scholarships created in memory of former Poplar Bluff man

An anonymous donor has committed $196,000 to create three scholarships in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. in memory of Poplar Bluff native, Jim Etter Parker. The scholarships will support students with financial need who are pursuing a degree from the Fay Jones School.

Parker, a 1981 graduate of the Fay Jones School, who passed away in 2018, designed multi-family units and commercial structures through his company, Parker Associates, which he founded in 1984. Parker Associates was based in Tulsa and was responsible for hundreds of projects across the country, including The Orion in St. Louis; West Side Heights in Atlanta; The Claremont in Kansas City, Kansas; West Chase in Houston; and Rocky Point in Tampa.

The donor making the contribution in Parker’s honor chose to establish scholarships to support students’ earnest academic endeavors and pay tribute to his Missouri roots and his fondness for Arkansas.

The Jim Etter Parker Endowed Freshman Recruiting and Retention Scholarship in Architecture will be funded with a $96,000 testamentary gift and will be awarded to full-time freshmen in the Fay Jones School who demonstrate financial need. Another $50,000 will establish the Jim Etter Parker Endowed Scholarship in Architecture and will specifically support students entering their third, fourth or fifth years of the architecture program. Both scholarships will give preference to students who are graduates of a high school in Missouri or Arkansas. Traditional and non-traditional students alike will be eligible.

The Jim Etter Parker Advance Arkansas Scholarship was created with a $50,000 endowment to support students from Arkansas who exhibit financial need, records of academic success and a strong desire to complete their degree at the university. Preference will be given to students enrolled in the Fay Jones School. One student will benefit annually, and the university will contribute matching funds to double the impact of the award.