Judges Rita and Wayne Gruber Establish $25,000 Endowed Scholarship for Bowen Law Students

Judges Rita and Wayne Gruber have established a $25,000 endowed scholarship to support students at the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. 

The Judges Rita and Wayne Gruber Endowed Scholarship will assist law students with education-related expenses while completing an externship at the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

“Judges Rita and Wayne Gruber embody the core values the Bowen School of Law seeks to impart: their lives are models of what it means to perform public service, advance justice, and do so with the utmost professionalism. I know I speak for everyone in the Bowen School of Law community when I say that we could not be more proud of their achievements and unwavering dedication to the legal profession,” said Colin Crawford, dean of the law school.

A Legacy of Service and Leadership

Married in 1973, the Grubers both enrolled at Bowen in 1975. “We came from humble backgrounds and didn’t know any lawyers growing up,” Wayne Gruber said. “It was a great honor to be accepted to Bowen.” After law school, both built successful careers in private practice before becoming elected judges.

Rita Gruber served on the Arkansas Court of Appeals from 2009 until her retirement in December 2024, following 18 years as a circuit judge for the Sixth Judicial District. While serving on the trial bench, she helped establish several programs focused on supporting youth, including a Volunteer Probation Officer program for first-time juvenile offenders, a specialized teen-parenting program, a truancy-alternative school, and the CSTP juvenile boot camp at Camp Robinson. Before serving as a circuit judge, she practiced law for a decade and was interim Pulaski County judge.

She is a member of the Pulaski County Bar Association, Arkansas Bar Association, and American Bar Association. She is very active in her community, serving on many boards and committees. Gruber works closely with the Bowen School of Law, developing mediation programming, particularly for juvenile cases. She’s also served several terms on the Bowen School of Law Dean’s Advisory Council.

Wayne Gruber served as a Pulaski County district judge from 2001 to 2024. Prior to that, he spent 20 years in private practice as a partner at the Gruber Law Firm. He also served in the Arkansas National Guard’s 189th Airlift Wing, where he was a judge advocate for 16 years and later a staff judge advocate for 10 years. Before joining the Guard, he served four years on active duty at Little Rock Air Force Base.

Gruber has previously served as president of the Pulaski County Bar Association, and the organization recognized him as District Judge of the Year in 2001, 2009, and 2014. In 2015, he served as president of the Arkansas District Judges’ Council and received the Pulaski County Bar Association’s Lawyer Citizen Award in 2018.

The Grubers, both Bowen alumni, were named Distinguished Alumni of the Year in November 2024, the highest honor awarded by the Bowen School of Law. The award recognizes graduates who have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to Bowen’s core values of access to justice, public service, and professionalism.

Giving Back to the Next Generation of Lawyers

The Grubers credit Bowen with shaping their legal careers and have remained long-time supporters of the law school. Rita Gruber supervised student externs for 16 years, providing hands-on learning experiences in the courts.

“Externships help students understand how courts work and give them valuable experience working on actual cases,” she said. “You have to have a passion to be a lawyer. By doing externships, it helps you refine what areas of law you’re interested in so you can focus during your third year.”

Recognizing the financial challenges many law students face, the Grubers hope their scholarship will provide meaningful support. “This is our small way of helping students who may be struggling to stay in law school,” Rita Gruber said.

Their dedication to Bowen students extends beyond this scholarship. The couple previously funded a book award to benefit law students.

“We got to live our dream,” Wayne Gruber said. “We worked hard in law school, in practice, and on the bench. We are grateful to Bowen for the opportunities we had.”

Their Bowen legacy continues through their children and son-in-law, who are also alumni.