{"id":8531,"date":"2021-01-18T15:03:02","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T21:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/?p=8531"},"modified":"2021-01-18T18:01:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T00:01:42","slug":"john-and-beverly-dews-scholarship-benefits-first-generation-college-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/2021\/john-and-beverly-dews-scholarship-benefits-first-generation-college-students\/","title":{"rendered":"John and Beverly Dews Scholarship benefits first-generation college students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Giving back to the hometown area that gave him his start inspired a Southern Arkansas University alumnus to endow a scholarship that will provide access to a quality education for Union County students.<\/p>\n

John Dews, former Simmons Bank of El Dorado chairman and CEO, and his wife, Beverly, a 1985 graduate of SAU-El Dorado, have generously funded the John and Beverly Dews Scholarship Endowment at $25,000 to benefit Union County students who demonstrate a financial need. The scholarship also gives preference to first-generation students.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dews, a Union County native and 1977 SAU alumnus, attributes his successful career in banking to the BBA he earned as a Mulerider.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the first to go to college in my family,\u201d Dews said. \u201cSAU was transformational. It opened doors we would love to see open for others.\u201d<\/p>\n

A graduate of Mount Holly High School, Dews won a Readers Digest Valedictory Scholarship to help pay his way through college. \u201cI worked to provide the rest,\u201d he said. \u201cThe total amount of my financial aid was $200.\u201d<\/p>\n

He offered praise and gratitude for his education at SAU, recalling the many business professors who impacted him academically as well as professionally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had amazing classroom instructors,\u201d Dews explained. \u201cI went to SAU intending to transfer to the University of Arkansas but quickly realized I was receiving the best education I could right here. I became part of that amazing accounting class of 1977.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dews began his career in the oil and gas industry before migrating into banking, \u201cand the rest is history,\u201d he said. Now retired in Hot Springs, Dews started at Simmons First Bank of El Dorado as the institution\u2019s first chief financial officer before advancing to chairman and CEO.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was one of the youngest bank presidents in the state,\u201d Dews said. \u201cI have no doubt that my accounting degree was a significant factor in my progressing to the presidency.\u201d<\/p>\n

He served the El Dorado bank from 1985-2010. Dews also served as president and CEO at Citizens Bank of Batesville.<\/p>\n

He and Beverly feel a strong desire to make a difference in future generations. \u201cWe want to help our home and the towns that made the difference for us,\u201d he said. \u201cSAU made this possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their endowment is part of a long history of support for SAU. \u201cWe\u2019ve never lost touch,\u201d said Dews. \u201cWe will always find ways of helping our alma mater.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a young student, SAU provided Dews a quality, affordable choice for his education. \u201cI ask those considering their first college home to look at the value and quality produced by this institution. SAU truly delivers on its promise to feel like home.\u201d<\/p>\n

This gift was a part of the University\u2019s Love and Loyalty Campaign, an effort which is in its fifth and final year seeking to raise $22.275 million.\u00a0 Increasing the number of scholarship endowments available through the SAU Foundation is a major focus of the campaign.\u00a0 For more information on the Love and Loyalty Campaign, please visit www.sauloveandloyalty.com<\/a> or contact the Division of Advancement at 870-235-4078.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Giving back to the hometown area that gave him his start inspired a Southern Arkansas University alumnus to endow a scholarship that will provide access to a quality education for Union County students. John Dews, former Simmons Bank of El Dorado chairman and CEO, and his wife, Beverly, a 1985 graduate of SAU-El Dorado, have… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":8536,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[271,97,276,200,7753,310],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8531","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-alumni","9":"category-community-corner","10":"category-foundation","11":"category-homepage","12":"category-scholarship-news","13":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}