In 1929, the citizens of Conway banded together and created a unique vision. In the grips of the Great Depression, bonds were sold to create Conway Corp out of the city’s electric utility revenues to generate enough money to keep Hendrix College and Central Baptist College in the city.
Conway Corp has been linked with education ever since, as what started at $215,000 of bonds has grown into millions of dollars invested and reinvested time and time again to power education, students and opportunities in our community over the last 87 years.
“Education has the power to change lives, and just like our own employees need the right tools for the job, students need the right tools in order to be successful,” Conway Corp CEO Richard Arnold said. “Conway Corp is dedicated to this community and committed to furthering education in our city through a wide-variety of education-related initiatives.”
Conway Corp provides world-class digital technology to our local schools and universities along with scholarships, grants, educational outreach and more. Since 2010, Conway Corp has given more than $4,000 in scholarships to the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Faulkner County and has given more than $600,000 in endowed scholarships to local students who attend the University of Central Arkansas, Central Baptist College and Hendrix since 2008. Conway Corp provides additional scholarships every year including 5 Sports scholarships awards to local student athletes for their performance on the field and in the classroom.
In addition, Conway Corp employees provide educational outreach at community events including Toad Suck Daze and at school events like field days and enrichment programs to talk about electric safety, being energy smart and even Internet safety tips and tools. Conway Corp is proud to recognize the Conway Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year each year and support the Conway Public Schools Foundation with teacher grants.
Conway Corp’s Energy Smart program hosts an annual art and essay contest to encourage students to start thinking about energy conservation and powering an energy smart future. The contest is open to K-12 students who live in the Conway Corp service area with cash prizes awarded to both the winning student and school.
Most recently, Conway Corp pledged $3 million to UCA for the construction of a new science center. The 50,000 square foot addition to the Lewis Science Center will be called the Conway Corporation Center for Sciences, will be LEED certified and will hold teaching, research and laboratory space to accommodate current and future students. The building is nearing completion and will open for students in January 2017.
In 1929, Conway leaders built a framework to benefit future generations over and over again. They created an opportunity powered by Conway Corp and its commitment to our community. Since then, Conway Corp and our employees have worked to honor that commitment and make a difference in the place we call home by continuing our legacy of supporting education. We proudly continue the efforts of our leaders in 1929 who captured the spirit of Conway and created a vision of education powered by Conway Corp.
