ATU Students Receive Scholarships at Capitol

Two Arkansas Tech University students received agriculture scholarships during a ceremony with Gov. Asa Hutchinson at the State Capitol in Little Rock on Monday, April 15.

Laney Huskey Johnson, an agricultural education major from Batesville, and Matthew Owens, an agriculture business major from Green Forest, were among nine college students in Arkansas who shared $20,000 in scholarships from the Arkansas Agriculture Department (AAD).

“Farmers provide so many things that are essential to life: beef, pork, poultry, and even catfish; cotton for clothes and lumber for houses and paper,” said Hutchinson. “I am pleased that you have chosen to follow thousands before you who have learned the best methods to produce the highest yields. In choosing a career in agriculture, which is our state’s largest industry, you have chosen a rewarding path. Thank you in advance for the contribution.”

According to a news release from the AAD, funds for the scholarships are generated through civil penalties collected by the Arkansas Agriculture Department’s State Plant Board.

Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward and State Plant Board Director Butch Calhoun assisted in the presentation of the scholarships.