Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty III, chairman of McLarty Associates, is the University of Arkansas Alumni Association’s 2017 Johnson Fellow. The Johnson Fellows program recognizes the career and life achievements of an outstanding University of Arkansas alumna or alumnus
The Johnson Fellows program is named for Dr. Jeff Johnson, B.A.’70, and his wife, Marcia. The Johnsons endowed the program in 2009 with the specific purpose of bringing esteemed alumni back to the University of Arkansas campus to engage and inspire students.
McLarty Associates is an international strategic advisory firm he co-founded in 1998 following a distinguished record of business leadership and public service, including various roles advising three U.S. presidents: Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter. He is also chair of the McLarty Companies, a fourth-generation family transportation business. He served as the White House chief of staff for President Bill Clinton. He organized the successful 1994 Summit of the Americas in Miami, which ultimately led to his appointment as Special Envoy for the Americas in 1997. Prior to his government service, McLarty was chair and chief executive officer of Arkla and was appointed by President Bush to the National Petroleum Council and the Council on Environmental Quality.
McLarty is a member of the Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee and A+ Life member of the Arkansas Alumni Association. In 2014, he and his wife Donna founded the McLarty Global Fellowship Program, which was established to support international study for undergraduate and graduate students in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the Clinton School of Public Service. In 2006, they created the Donna C. and Thomas F. McLarty III Fellowship with a gift to the Center for the Study of the Presidency based in Washington, D.C. The fellowship allows students to attend workshops at the center twice a year. In 2002, they established the Thomas F. and Donna McLarty Endowed Study Abroad Scholarships Fund with a gift of $100,000 to create study abroad opportunities for students in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.
McLarty will visit the University of Arkansas campus April 20, 2017.