Trish Starks and Michael Pierce were both raised in families of public school teachers and share a deep belief in the U of A’s transformative role as a public institution. On campus, Starks serves as a Distinguished Professor of history and director of the Arkansas Humanities Center, and Pierce is an associate professor of history and directs the Nelson Hackett Project. While the university offers expansive opportunities and academic resources, they believe the Honors College provides the close-knit support of a small school, empowering students not just to excel but to flourish in their intellectual curiosities.
As honors faculty, they are personally acquainted with many of the honors scholars and understand the need for support beyond existing scholarship funding. That understanding deepened through the experience of their son, Benjamin Pierce B.A.’24, who recently graduated with the support of a Sturgis Fellowship. Watching Benjamin thrive in the Honors College affirmed their belief in the college’s impact, and both Starks and Pierce felt it was essential to pay that support forward by investing in resources that expand access for students across the state.
The first endowment Starks and Pierce made to the Honors College honored Starks’s grandmother, Rubye, whom Starks remembers as their “biggest fan” during their academic journey. In recognition of Rubye’s influence, they intentionally directed the gift to the Path Program.
*This post is condensed from a longer article by Shelby Gill B.A.’14 published in the fall 2025 issue of Arkansas Magazine. Gill is the director of communications in the University of Arkansas Honors College.
