Buddy and Charlotte Beck Give Scholarship Endowment in Honor of George Barker
JONESBORO — Arkansas State University alumni Buddy and Charlotte Beck of Fairfax Station, Va., who generously presented the university with a gift of $1 million in 2007 to start the Beck Center for Veterans, have announced the establishment of the Gen. George Barker Scholarship Endowment to honor his 11 years of board service to the center.
The Beck Center for Veterans provides combat-wounded veterans with first-class educational programs and services at Arkansas State University. These include, but are not limited to, resources to access to the higher education experience, resources for counseling, personal rehabilitation, advocacy and financial assistance to help support these individuals to achieve their post-military service goals.
“We are very thankful for the service to the Beck Center board by General Barker, and so very appreciative of the thoughtful gift from Buddy and Charlotte to honor his work on the board,” Chancellor Kelly Damphousse said.
Barker graduated from Arkansas State in 1955 with a degree in music. He began his first career as a second lieutenant in the U. S. Army after receiving his officer commission from the ROTC program at A-State. His senior military assignments included command of two field artillery battalions, commander of a civil affairs command as a brigadier general and commander of an Army reserve command as a major general.
Upon completion of that four-year assignment, he was appointed to the position of assistant deputy chief of staff mobilization and reserve affairs department of the Army in Washington, D.C., during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He held this position until his retirement in August 1991, concluding 36 years of military service.
His senior military education included U. S. Army Command and General Staff College, Industrial College of the Armed Forces National Security Management and the United States Army War College. During his career, he received a number of awards and decorations including twice being awarded the Department of the Army Distinguished Service Medal.
Gen. Barker recently completed serving as a trustee of the Army War College Foundation at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., and currently serves as a member of the Chancellor’s Circle at Arkansas State and the Veterans National Advisory Council. Barker was honored as a distinguished graduate of Arkansas State in 2010, inducted into the A-State ROTC Hall of Heroes, and was inducted into the National ROTC Hall of Fame last September.
In his civilian career, Barker held two major positions with the American Cancer Society, CEO of the New York City division and later the national executive vice president for international development. He received the key to the city of New York from Mayor Edward I. Koch for his leadership role in establishing a veterans program in the city.
Barker and his wife, Dr. Pamelia S. Phillips, recently moved from New York City to South Carolina.
