McMillons Give Another $1M to UA’s Innovation Studio | Arkansas Business News | ArkansasBusiness.com

Doug and Shelley McMillon have committed an additional $1 million to the McMillon Innovation Studio on the campus of the University of Arkansas so that it can serve more students.

Their gift will count toward Campaign Arkansas’ fundraising total and brings the couple’s support of the studio to $2 million. 

The McMillons gave an initial $1 million in 2014 to create the McMillon Innovation Studio through the McMillon Family Retail Innovation Fund.

“Learning how to solve customer problems fast is key to staying ahead of change,” Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart Inc. of Bentonville, said in a news release. “We hope to help prepare and inspire a new generation of students to take on these challenges in the retail industry and others.”

McMillon is a 1989 accounting graduate of the UA Sam M. Walton College of Business, and he serves on the Walton College’s Dean’s Executive Advisory Board. The McMillons are also past co-chairs of Campaign Arkansas and serve on the executive committee for the Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee.

The students at the studio, which is in a former retail space at the Harmon Parking Facility, work with industry partners on challenges and opportunities that require innovative approaches. The students have a variety of majors and come from colleges across campus.

The studio’s focus is helping them become “product management ready” by the time they graduate and begin careers. It provides workshops, mentors, seed funding and other resources.

Other gifts also support student work at the studio. For example, a $500,000 gift created the Kelly and Steve Barnes Health and Well-being Innovation Fund, which promotes collaboration between health care and business.