When Chaney and Susie Floyd talk about the University of Central Arkansas, their voices soften with familiarity and pride. It is, after all, the place where their paths first truly crossed—where Chaney was a football captain and a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, Susie pledged Sigma Kappa, and where both earned education degrees that shaped their lives and careers.

“I was going to get an ice cream cone at the drive-in in Nashville (Arkansas) in the summer of 1968 when they hollered at me,” Chaney laughed, remembering the day he met Susie. “I’ve been with her ever since.”

From those early days, BT����was more than a university; it became the backdrop of their love story, their professional foundation, and later, their family’s shared passion. Their daughter, Meredith, followed in their footsteps, graduating from BT����in 2009 with a degree in public relations. She spent her student years working in the athletics department and cheering for the Bears with the same loyalty her parents had carried for decades.

Meredith passed away in 2015 at just 30 years old, after years of battling addiction. Her loss remains immeasurable. Yet through their grief, the Floyds have chosen to honor her life in ways that uplift others.

“She loved BT����and the Bears,” Chaney said. “She would be excited to know that a scholarship in her name is helping student-athletes achieve their educational degrees.”

The Meredith Susanne Floyd Endowed Scholarship now supports BT����football players pursuing education degrees, reflecting both Meredith’s love for athletics and the Floyds’ lifelong commitment to teaching.

But the Floyds’ vision extends even further. They recently worked with the BT����Foundation on a legacy gift that will support both athletics and academics, with a special focus on addiction studies. For them, it is a way to transform personal loss into hope for future students and families.

“Addiction affects so many families,” Susie said quietly during their recent interview. “If our gift can support students who are preparing to help others, then Meredith’s life will continue to make a difference.”

Chaney and Susie know what it means to give of themselves. Both built long careers in education, driving back and forth to graduate programs at night to earn advanced degrees while raising a family. Chaney went on to serve as a principal and later taught aspiring administrators at BT����and Harding University. Susie taught elementary school, was counselor at Conway High School for several years, and later worked in adult education before retiring. Their shared journey has always been about helping others grow.

Now, through their philanthropy, they are extending that commitment to the next generation. Their story is one of love – love for each other, for their daughter, and for the university that brought them together.

As they look to the future, the Floyds see their legacy not in buildings or titles, but in the lives touched by opportunity: the student-athlete striving on the field and in the classroom, the young counselor learning how to guide families through addiction, the graduates who will carry UCA’s mission into communities across Arkansas.

For Chaney and Susie, that is the truest reflection of Meredith’s joyful spirit, and the most meaningful gift they can give.

Estate planning can bring peace of mind

If there’s one thing Pamela Woodard George wants you to know about making an estate plan, it is that it can give you peace of mind.

“I think of so many people who don’t think ahead of time about what they’re going to do with their estate because they don’t think they have very much or whatever, but it’s very important to do that and it gives you such peace of mind. It really does,” she said.

When George first started thinking about giving back through her estate, she wasn’t sure she had enough to make a difference, but then she talked with an attorney about setting up her estate plan.

“I was like wow, I did really well to invest and save up and this is possible, and where I am going to put my money, I think it will make a big difference,” she said.

George worked in the Center for Global Learning and Engagement (CGLE) for eight years.

“That’s not a long time, but it was a very deep connection,” she said. “I have lived here in Conway since 1996, and I have such a deep connection to the community and BT����is such a part of the community. I think that’s also part of my motivation for giving to the Foundation.”

George has been a long-time supporter through annual gifts and she plans to continue that support, but earlier this year she finalized her estate plan and made a commitment to support the Global Community Fund through that plan. This fund is used to help international students with critical needs.

During her time working as the program manager for international student scholars services, she witnessed firsthand the challenges some international students face. “It’s much more complicated because if a parent gets ill,” she explained. “Students from the US can usually go home, but if you live halfway around the world, then it’s not so easy to do.

“Covid was an especially difficult time for international students because of travel restrictions, so I’ve seen that even a small amount of money can make a big difference to a student.”

George said it gives her a lot of pleasure to give back. “I don’t have a lot of money, but I do want what I have to make a difference,” she said. “There are students out there doing incredible things for our community, and they need our support. They need to feel valued, and it doesn’t take a lot of money to do that, so whatever you can do, it’s going to make a big difference.”

A couple of years ago, Dr. Morrie Mullins ’94 and his wife finally realized they were grown-ups (his collection of baseball cards and action figures notwithstanding) and they needed wills.

“We’ve never been blessed with kids of our own, so we started thinking about organizations that we might leave money to,” he said. “BT����was the first and only school that I put on the list. Being able to give a little here and there has been nice, but I wanted to be able to make a bigger impact. Leaving part of our estate to Honors just felt natural.”

BT����is where Mullins started to become the person he is today. He saw how transformative educators and education can be. “I was able to discover key aspects of who I am, and critical elements of what I value, as a result of my time at BT����and in the Honors College,” he continued. “If I can support other students on that same kind of journey, I want – NEED – to do so.”

In the spring of 1991, Mullins came to campus for his Honors College interview with its founder, Dr. Norb Schedler. He remembers the office that was a little larger than an average office cubicle and piled high with books, and being greeted by this archetypal professor with a beard, bowtie, suit and sneakers. He might have even had an unlit pipe in his mouth. “That was, of course, Norb,” Mullins said.

“Norb and Rick [Scott] really modeled a compassionate approach to education,” he continued. “They also loved what they did, and they brought that love with them into the classroom and into all of their interactions.”

Mullins, a professor of psychology at Xavier University in Cincinnati, carried those lessons with him into the career he has today. “It took me a couple of jobs to land where I am now,” he said. “I went from a huge land-grant university for my first job, to a middle-sized state school for my second, and finally to the small private university where I’ve worked since 2002. As I was making my decisions, I was often reminded of a story Norb told about the impact reading “Small is Beautiful” had on his decision-making around where to make his career, and how it ultimately brought him to UCA.”

As Mullins reflected on his career, he said, “I have the credentials that I have because of the totality of my education, but I am the educator I am because of Norb Schedler, Rick Scott, and the Honors College. Their student-centered approach to pedagogy, and their willingness to share the human experience of education with their students, was revelatory for me. I have spent my career trying to live up to their legacy.

“I don’t have many recurring dreams, but one that I used to have fairly frequently was coming back to BT����to teach,” Mullins continued. “I would have loved to directly contribute to the mission of a university that was so central in shaping who I am. The opportunity never arose, and I can be okay with that. A planned gift to BT����and the Schedler Honors College is still a wonderful way to help other students find their path in the world.”

Honors College Dean Dr. Patricia Smith said, “We are thankful for Morrie and alums like him who, by investing in the Schedler Honors College, are ensuring Norb’s “Lively Experiment” will continue so that future generations will get to experience their own journey of self discovery.”

If you are interested in learning how to support your favorite area of BT����through your will or another type of bequest, please contact Senior Director of Legacy Planning Ken Bissell at kbissell@uca.edu or 501-852-2606.

Jim and Patti Eskola met on campus in the mid-1960s when Jim was a student orientation leader and Patti was a freshman. Their friendship grew into love and the couple married in 1967 and went into public education.

Their oldest son, Todd ’95, ’00 enrolled at BT����in 1989 and through involvement in Greek life met and married Kim McNeely ’94, ’98. They will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in November. Todd followed in his parents footsteps and went into public education with him succeeding his dad teaching math and coaching football at Joe T. Robinson High School following his retirement in 1995. Kim spent a decade as the Health Director at the Little Rock Athletic Club before returning to her alma mater in 2005 to teach in what is today the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. She is currently the interim department chair.

Most recently, Todd and Kim’s two sons, Hunter ’21 (Sarah Garrett Eskola ’22) and Trent ’23 (Ellie Groeber ’22), met their spouse/fiance while attending UCA.

“Several members of our family are or have been either teachers, coaches or administrators in Arkansas public schools. We decided to set up the scholarship at this time not only to honor the Eskola family who has dedicated their careers to education in Arkansas, but also to pay it forward to assist the next generation of students pursuing the exercise and sport science and education fields.”

The Eskola Family Scholarship was set up to honor the legacy of the Eskola’s in education and involvement with UCA. In addition to the couples already mentioned, other Eskola family members who attended BT����include: Glenn Eskola ’68 (Jim’s brother) also met and married CaVonna (Henshaw) ’68; Jeff Eskola ’97 ’00; M’Shay Eskola Callicott ’98; Leslie Edwards Eskola ’15; and Andrea Williford Eskola ’07.

The Eskola Family Scholarship was designed to provide financial assistance to students pursuing a degree in the Exercise and Sport Science Department (undergraduate and graduate) and/or pursuing the education field.

“Preference will be given to students who have graduated from Joe T. Robinson High School since there has been an Eskola teaching at the high school for over 50 years,” Kim explained. “We also wanted to assist students who would not normally obtain scholarships or would be Pell Grant eligible.” The GPA requirement for the scholarship is a 2.5-3.5 GPA with evidence of community service and involvement (both at BT����and/or their community).

If you are interested in learning how to set up a scholarship or any other type of support at BT����using a bequest, please contact Senior Director of Legacy Planning Ken Bissell at kbissell@uca.edu or 501-852-2606.

The Office of Legacy Planning helped her realize this goal by guiding her through the process of designating the BT����Foundation as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy. One day, this policy will fund the Stephanie Daigle Study Abroad Fund.

No matter your age, remember the BT����Office of Legacy Planning is here as a resource for you. We want to help you change lives and help more students as your make your plans for the future.

To learn more about creating your own legacy at UCA, please contact the Office of Legacy Planning at legacyplanning@uca.edu or (501) 852-2606.