Alfred Williams and Elaine Eubank have a special place in their hearts for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

During their more than 30 years of marriage, they’ve witnessed the impact they could have on the university through their gifts of time, support and financial gifts.

“I’m a firm believer that the city grows or fails based on how we support higher education,” said Williams, former chair of the UA Little Rock Alumni Board and 2013 Presidents Award honoree.

To further continue their support of higher education and the university, the couple has made UA Little Rock a beneficiary of their life insurance policy.

As lifetime members of the UA Little Rock Alumni Association, the couple understands that no matter the amount they contribute, what they choose to give is for the greater good of the university and the community.

Because Williams was taught that giving was the right thing to do, he endowed two scholarships, the E. Grainger and Francis Williams scholarship and the Elaine Eubank scholarship, as gifts to honor his parents and his wife. Following suit, Eubank surprised Williams by establishing an endowed scholarship in his name, the Alfred Williams scholarship.

“It’s an easy step to make,” Williams said. “When I became more involved with the Alumni Association, I found that even when we gave scholarships, students couldn’t afford the schooling because of books. It just seemed to me like we were just missing out, that I ought to be able to help in a way that gave them something that I didn’t have to struggle for.”

Williams and Eubank are content in their decision to name the university the beneficiary of their life insurance policy, which makes them members of the Heritage Society.

“It’s nice to know that in some small way, we can help someone else,” said Eubank, who received the university’s 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award. “There are a lot of different ways to make a planned gift. It doesn’t have to be an astronomical amount. Even a small scholarship helps.”

As the first person in her family to have the opportunity to attend college, Eubank knows firsthand the importance of financial support in higher education.

“I’m the student that I have heard Chancellor Rogerson talk so much about,” Eubank said. “It was a financial stretch for my family to try to send someone to college. The fact that it was an urban university, and I could live with my family while I attended school made it doable. Also, jobs were more readily available in Little Rock than in smaller college towns and I could work full time and go to school full time.”

Because she was always shuttling between work and school, Eubank never had time to be socially engaged with the university as an undergraduate student, as opposed to her husband, who was involved in just about everything on campus.

“It means a lot to me to be involved with the university now, because I really wasn’t when I was a student here, and that makes the present relationship even more important,” Eubank said.

Eubank graduated from UA Little Rock in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, and Williams in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science.

While Eubank serves as the president and chief executive officer of Easter Seals Arkansas, a nonprofit organization that serves children and adults with disabilities, Williams serves as senior vice president and risk consultant for BXS Insurance. He continues to follow in the footsteps of his father, Grainger Williams, who was devoted to supporting Little Rock Junior College, Little Rock University, and UA Little Rock.

For more information on giving, contact Jan Davis, director of gift planning for the UA Little Rock Alumni Association, at 501.683.7208 or at jpdavis@ualr.edu.