About Us
History
The effort to build a world-class science and technology museum truly began in January 2004 with simple conversation among the community and various leaders, including former Chairman and CEO of The Bank of Fayetteville John Lewis.
A year later, the Northwest Arkansas Museum Foundation, Inc. (Foundation) incorporated and formed a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to manage the startup of a new museum in the region. To date, the Foundation has raised more than $565,000 to fund museum industry and sustainability research, business plan development and site selection.
We’ve made major progress through the years, the latest being our passage of a 250-page business plan completed by White Oak Associates, Inc. The group, who was central to the success of the Boston Museum of Science, wrote a plan that combines museum design, financing and construction. After the board of directors approved the plan in May, we entered the site selection campaign. For more information on our progress, visit the Press section of our website.
Once site selection is complete, we will begin a national search for a permanent executive director and an architect. The capital campaign will follow, raising monies for the design, construction and operation of the museum facilities.
Board Members
Ron Goforth
“The thrill of things new still captivates me. Did it begin by making "fizzies" with a Christmas gift chemistry set? Or making a crystal radio and hearing a tinny voice issuing forth from something so simple. Or melting lead and seeing the colors in the scum floating to the top? Seeing my own kids discover nature, becoming able to identify every kind of tree in the Ozarks even in the dead of winter? Of course, my personal journey of discovery is hardly over.”
President – Beta-Rubicon, Inc.
CEO – EquityNet, LLC
Board Member and Founder – Beta-Rubicon, Inc.
Board Member and Co-Founder – Virtual Incubation Company, LLC and EquityNet, Inc.
Previous Experience – Arkansas Science and Technology Authority, the US Food and Drug Administration, the US Information Agency and the United Nations Environmental Program in Paris, France.
“I was a small, thin, pale five-year-old girl, blonde with Shirley Temple curls wearing a pink ruffled gingham dress with black patent leather shoes and lacey pink socks. While walking in my neighborhood, I came upon the most beautiful thing, so beautiful that I ran home and got a bag to collect some of the beauty to show my mother and grandmother. But as I collected my treasures, a nice older lady opened her screen door and told me she is, "sorry, but I mustn't take ‘her treasures’.” Sadly, I poured out the contents of my bag and went home empty handed. What was it? The most sparkly, brilliant white chat (driveway gravel to some) you have ever seen! Isn't it amazing where having time to explore the earth can take you?”
Director -- University of Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education and Arkansas
NASA Educator Resource Center.
Outreach Director - University of Arkansa's K-12 School Systems programs
Developer – University of Arkansas’ Arkansas AEGIS (Academic Enrichment for the Gifted In Summer) program
Helen Lewis
"When I was a child growing up in the Ozarks, I was fascinated by the natural wonders surrounding me as a child – the creeks, the rocks, the fossils, the tadpoles, the geodes. When I found my first geode I rushed into the house to show my mother my “diamond.” It broke her heart when she had to tell me it wasn’t a diamond. I loved to wade in the creeks, picking up unusual rocks and critters. I collected bugs, leaves, rocks, wildflowers and anything else I could carry. In college, I took a geology course and still have the text book because the text resonated with my childhood memories. If I had been exposed to a science museum back then, my life would be far different today.”
Public Affairs – Kentucky Fried Chicken, Kentucky
Human Resources – Kentucky Fried Chicken, Kentucky
Project Manager – Training and Program Development Department – Kentucky Fried Chicken, Washington, D.C.
Board Member – Washington Regional Hospice, Regional Arts Alliance, North Arkansas Symphony, TheatreSquared.
“I believe we all need to spend more time learning to appreciate and enjoy Nature rather than controlling it. But the science museum is about more than the Natural Sciences. It’s also about STEM studies -- Science Technology Engineering and Math. Our country used to lead the world in these areas but we’ve lost this edge. Young people are not opting to go into these fields even though they offer exciting and lucrative careers. Women and minorities are sorely under-represented in these areas. Families and schools are not providing the right incubators to encourage pursuing these topics. We need to capture young people’s interest and stimulate their imagination to ensure continued growth and development in these areas.”
Chief Information Officer, Executive Vice President -- J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc.
Board Member – University of Arkansas Information Research Technology Institute
Activities: Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross
Graduate – Magna Cum Laude, Harding University, Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science
"I've been a big supporter of museums since childhood, and have come to appreciate that excellence in the arts and sciences represent some of the most admirable achievements of human potential. When I relocated to N.W. Arkansas in 2002, the absence of world-class museums represented a challenge that I felt compelled to change. With the support of John Lewis and other highly motivated board members, we have made tremendous progress towards making the Northwest Arkansas Science and Technology Museum concept a reality."
President, CEO – Hannover
House
Active Benefactor – Children's
Miracle Network, Dove
Foundation
“I had the opportunity when I was 14-years-old to see Glen Canyon Dam under construction in southern Utah. The technology used in the construction of the massive concrete structure and the radical environmental changes it begat were both fascinating to me.”
President and CEO -- Cooper
Real Estate
Investments located in Rogers, Arkansas.
Former Chairman -- Northwest
Arkansas
Radiation Treatment Institute
Vice Chairman -- United
Methodist
Foundation of Arkansas
Board Member -- Washington
Regional Medical Foundation
"Like most kids, I grew up asking, ‘Why?’ Fortunately, I had parents who loved to answer my simple queries by showing and doing. I recall Dad explaining a meteor shower while lying on a nearby hilltop, countless experiments in the kitchen, and learning about ‘lift’ by parking for long periods at the end of a airport runway. Now I'm a parent, and when my daughter asks, ‘Why?’ or, ‘How come?’ I smile and respond, ‘Let me show you.’ I have always been passionate about Science. My passion for this project is because it gives me, and Northwest Arkansas, a wonderful place to answer questions and a place to be inspired to ask even more."
Executive -- Proctor & Gamble and recently moved to Northwest Arkansas from Boston.
Consumer Products Industry Experience – 17 years
Past Board Members:
John Lewis, Former Board President (1939-2007).
Without John’s involvement, this project would not be where it is today. John’s passion for education and technology is what sustained it, and the board continues to foster that passion in his memory.
Founder and former Chairman and CEO -- The
Bank of
Fayetteville
Former Board Member – Fayetteville Public School District, Fayetteville Development Corporation, Washington Regional Hospital Foundation and University of Arkansas Community Design Center.
Former Board Chairman -- University of Arkansas Technology
Development Foundation, Genesis Technology
Incubator, Beaver
Water District, and the Fayetteville Community Foundation, Winthrop
Rockefeller Foundation board.
Jim Blair served as on of the original board members. He is an active board member for the Fayetteville Public Education Foundation, Fayetteville Public Library, Tyson Family Foundation and the Arkansas Tennis Foundation. He is also a founding member of the board for the Northwest Arkansas Council. Blair was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1968, 1972 and 1980. He also served as the Democratic National Committeeman from Arkansas from 1980 to 1984.
Jim Smith served in various capacities on the board including as secretary. He stepped off the board to become the president of the Fayetteville Community Foundation and still serves as legal advisor to the Northwest Arkansas Museum Foundation. Smith is a partner with the Friday, Eldredge & Clark law firm at their Fayetteville office and his community involvement includes board positions on the Arkansas Venture Forum, the Genesis Technology Incubator and the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.
Management
Brent Robinson, Executive Director
“For this project, I have visited dozens of museum. When we go on vacation, I seek out museums and bring my kids along on the interviews. By the time my son Gray with three-years-old, he could annunciate “paleontologist” perfectly because he loves bones. Last fall, I asked all my kids, "Who wants to crawl under the house with me to wrap our water pipes?" No one dared. Gray stayed at the opening and handed me tools. I discovered a completely intact bone white skeleton of a raccoon. I poked my head out to tell Gray. His eyes got so big. He ran through the house and came back with one of our camping lamps, a bucket and some paintbrushes. Fearlessly, he dove under the house, practically pushing me out of the way, and meticulously swept away the dust and carefully laid the bones into his bucket. We don’t even have a science museum yet, but I know these museum visits are having a profound effect on all my children’s sense of scientific discovery.”
Non-Profit Work – University of Arkansas Community Design Center, Fayetteville Downtown Partners, Sister to Sister and TheatreSquared.
Additional Experience – Technology Consultant, San Francisco
Graduate – Walton College of Business (MBA), University of Arkansas School of Architecture (BA)
Steering Committee
Helen Lewis
Kay Palmer
Eric Parkinson
Lynne Hehr
Rita Littrell, Director, Bessie B. Moore, Center for Economic Education, University of Arkansas
Derek Sears
Alan Fortenberry, CEO Beaver Water District
Kathy Prophet, 7th Grade Science Teacher, Hellstern Middle School - Springdale, AR
Dewitt Smith
Brent Robinson
Jim Smith
Uvalde Lindsey, Adviser, Northwest Arkansas Council
Mike Lindsey, Financial Adviser, Morgan Keegan
Dennis Hunt, Investment Banker, Stephens, Inc.
Science and Technology Advisory Committee
Dr. Robert O. (Neal) Apple, Vice President of Food Safety & Laboratory Services, Tyson Foods, Inc.
Dr. Mike Daugherty, Interim Head, Dept. of Rehabilitation, Human Resources, and Communication Disorders, U of A College of Education
Mr. Robert Fink, President, CDF Services, Inc.
Dr. Jim Gaddy, President, BioEngineering Resources, Inc.
Dr. Ron Goforth, President, Beta-Rubicon, Inc.
Dr. Tom Green, Director, Arkansas Archaeological Survey
Dr. Bill Hardgrave, Executive Director, Information Technology Research Center (ITRC)
Dr. Bill Harter, Professor, Department of Physics, U of A Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Jon Johnson, Associate Professor, U of A Department of Management, Walton College of Business
Dr. Fred Limp, University Professor, Director, Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST)
Dr. Marty Matlock, Associate Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, U of A Bumpers College and the College of Engineering
Dr. Frank Millet, Distinguished Professor, Director, U of A Center for Protein Structure and Function
Dr. Derek Sears, University Professor, W. M. Keck Professor of Space and Planetary Sciences, Center Director, Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences, U of A
Dr. Craig Thompson, University Professor, U of A Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering
Dr. Vijay Varadan, Distinguished Professor, Director, High Density Electronics Center (HiDEC)
Mr. Dave Wall, Visiting Associate Professor, U of A Department of Physics
Capital Campaign Committee
Bill Mitchell - Advisor
