James Hendren to Receive UALR's Fribourgh Award
Arkansas tech pioneer and Innovate Arkansas supporter James Hendren will receive the Fribrourgh Award from UALR, the school announced Wednesday.
Hendren has supported IA and all efforts to build a tech startup ecosystem since before the foundation for such a thing even existed.
He's a board member and past chair for Acclerate Arkansas, chairs the Venture Center board, is a former AEDC commissioner, and he served on the boards of ASTA and the Arkansas STEM Coalition.
In addition, Hendren was co-founder of Arkansas Systems (now Euronet) and is a managing member of Fund for Arkansas' Future.
Plus, he sits on the boards of IA client firm Movista and UAMS BioVentures and previously served on the boards of IA clients Vivione Biosciences, Qbox.io, and Black Oak Partners, and VIC Technology Venture Development of Fayetteville.
All that just kind of scratches the surface, actually. He's a tech founder, tech investor, tech mentor....you get the idea.
Here's more on the much-deserved award from UALR:
James Hendren to receive UALR’s Fribourgh Award
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (April 8, 2015) – Dr. James Hendren, an entrepreneurial champion for the advancement of technology startup companies and job development in Arkansas, will be honored at 5:30 p.m. Thursday April 30, at the Pleasant Valley Country Club.
Hendren, the former CEO and chairman of one of Arkansas’s earliest high-tech companies, Arkansas Systems Inc. (ARKSYS ), now known as Euronet, will receive UALR’s prestigious Fribourgh Award, sponsored by the UALR College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences.
Tickets are $75 per person, of which $60 is tax deductible, to benefit the Science and Mathematics Leadership Endowed Scholarship Fund for undergraduate students.
For reservations, go to ualr.at/fribourgh or contact Joseph Lampo at 501.569.8326 or jwlampo@ualr.edu.
Hendren, an innovator in sophisticated software development in both the defense and finance industries, grew ARKSYS from a small, home-grown company to an internationally known corporation.
“James has truly made outstanding contributions to STEM education and economic development in Arkansas,” said John Chamberlin, founder of ARKSYS.
Hendren served on the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority board of directors and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. At the commission, Hendren led the charge to include high-tech startup companies in economic development strategies for the state.
As the founding chairman of the Arkansas STEM Coalition and chairman of Accelerate Arkansas and the Arkansas Venture Center, Hendren continues to be a key player in spearheading efforts to create jobs in Arkansas.
He is also an avid volunteer serving in a variety of capacities at UALR including serving as the former Executive in Residence for the College of Information Sciences and System Engineering (EIT) for 10 years. Hendren earned a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Ph.D. in physics from the University of Arkansas.
Created in 2010, the Fribourgh Award honors the late Dr. James H. Fribourgh, a former UALR professor and administrator. Professor emeritus Fribourgh spent more than 45 years at UALR, serving as chair of Life Sciences, interim chancellor, vice chancellor for academic affairs, and distinguished professor of biology.