The University of Arkansas announced that the family of Tim and Beverly Graham is contributing $300,000 to support the naming of a flexible studio space/classroom at the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation.

This gift provides support to the center by naming the 3,758-SF space the Tim and Beverly Graham Family Studio and Classroom.

“This center gives the university an opportunity to showcase one of our state’s most abundant natural resources,” Tim Graham said in a news release. “It also will allow the design professions to hire graduates who will bring new ideas and perspectives on what can be accomplished with wood.”

The Anthony Timberlands Center will serve as home to the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design’s graduate program in timber and wood and as an epicenter for its multiple timber and wood initiatives.

This education and research center will focus on excellence in wood design, materials innovation, and product diversification to expand the use of wood in design, manufacturing and construction. It will house the school’s existing design-build program and an expanded digital fabrication laboratory. 

Tim Graham, a native of Springdale and graduate of the University of Arkansas with a finance and real estate degree, is a former regional vice president of sales and marketing for J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and a founding partner of commercial developer Pinnacle Group.

He has served on the university’s Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee in support of the Fay Jones School. He has also been a member of the Arkansas World Trade Center Board of Advisors.