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ALDERMEN TOUR UAPB, CONSIDER DONATING

By Erin France/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 11:02 PM CDT

City aldermen got a first-hand look at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Wednesday.

Third Ward Alderman Glen Brown (left) and Pine Bluff Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr., check out the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s football jerseys Wednesday during a tour of the campus. Henri Linton Jr., UAPB’s assistant athletic director for marketing and promotion, looks on behind them. Pine Bluff Commercial/Erin France

UAPB’s chancellor Dr. Lawrence A. Davis Jr. gave five council members and Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. a personal tour of the campus.

The tour comes after Davis and Skip Perkins, the UAPB’s athletic director, asked the city to match its 2007 donation of $50,000 for the new Torii Hunter Baseball, Softball and Little League Complex.

“I’m not asking you to give me money for myself,” Davis said.

The investment aids the university and stimulates the local economy, he said.

Aldermen rode a UAPB bus around the campus and explored places such as the J. Thomas May Field House and the L.A. Davis Student Union.

“It’s a lot more to see than just passing on University Drive,” said 1st Ward Alderman Thelma Walker.

The city did not budget a university donation for 2009 and has about $30,000 left in undesignated funds for such un-itemized expenses.

“Undesignated is almost nil,” said 3rd Ward Alderman Bill Brumett. “We’ll have to see what we can do.”

“We’re going to do our very best,” Walker said. “We understand our limitations.”

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