CONWAY, Ark. (April 10, 2017) – Hendrix College will award
the honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to Bridge2Rwanda founder
and CEO Dale Dawson at the 133rd Hendrix College
Commencement.
The ceremony is Saturday, May 13, at 9 a.m., in the Wellness
and Athletic Center Event Gym. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu/commencement.
Following the presentation of the honorary degree, Dawson
will deliver the commencement address to the Hendrix College Class of 2017.
One of Bridge2Rwanda’s main projects is a Scholars Program
for talented Rwandan high school graduates and students from nearby countries
with demonstrated leadership skills. The Scholars Program brings the students to
Kigali for one year and helps prepare them to take standardized exams to get
into United States colleges and universities. This year, two Bridge2Rwanda
Scholars graduates are enrolled at Hendrix.
As Bridge2Rwanda CEO, Dawson was
instrumental in aiding the College’s involvement in the Rwanda Presidential
Scholars Program. Through that program, Hendrix has led a consortium of 18
colleges and universities across eight Southern states, welcoming outstanding
Rwandan high school graduates to enroll and major in science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics fields. Now in its 10th year, the Hendrix consortium has
educated 186 Rwandan scholars; 41 of these accomplished students have
matriculated at Hendrix, enhancing diversity in and out of the classroom.
Dawson became interested in
Rwanda after meeting Bishop Rucyahana, who was raising funds to build schools
in Rwanda, primarily for genocide orphans. Dawson learned about and got
involved in microfinance, helping to start Urwego Opportunity Bank. He then
founded Bridge2Rwanda, a nonprofit launched in Kigali and headquartered in
Little Rock that works to facilitate business development, promotes private
enterprise in Africa, and brings American business leaders to Rwanda.
An investment banker and entrepreneur, Dawson serves on the
boards of Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda, Halftime and Edify. A University
of Texas alumnus, Dawson was in charge of investment banking at private
investment firm Stephens Inc.; a partner and national director at global
accounting firm KPMG; and chair & CEO of commercial truck parts distributor
TruckPro, which sold to AutoZone.
About
Bridge2Rwanda
Bridge2Rwanda was formed in 2007 to help expand Rwanda’s
global network of friends, to encourage foreign direct investment and to create
opportunities for Rwandan students to study abroad. A few years later, B2R was
asked to develop a new scholars program to “burst the bottlenecks” that were
preventing Rwanda’s best students from competing for international
scholarships. The first class of Bridge2Rwanda Scholars was launched in 2011.
Learn more at www.bridge2rwanda.org.
About
Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway,
Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since
1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges
That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges and is
nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for
academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.