$50,000 gift bolsters UA Little Rock planetarium endowment ahead of fall reopening
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received a $50,000 gift from alumnus and retired attorney James Bruce McMath and his wife, Becky, to strengthen the Shellam Flake Planetarium Endowment Fund as the university prepares to reopen the facility this fall.
The endowment is designed to ensure long-term support for the planetarium’s operations, programming, and staffing, positioning it as a lasting destination for students and the broader community. The contribution adds momentum to the university’s effort to revitalize the venue and deepen its public outreach.
For McMath, the gift reflects a lifelong fascination with the night sky. “I am a space race baby,” he said. “I was eight when Sputnik launched, and I followed it with the same enthusiasm as some people follow a sports team.” What began with buying a telescope for his son evolved into building telescope mirrors, conducting amateur research, and operating a robotic telescope.
He has contributed more than 130,000 observations of variable stars to an international database. McMath said he sees the planetarium as a way to rekindle wonder at a time when fewer people have seen the Milky Way in its full splendor. “The reality is, without question, the greatest natural spectacle is the Milky Way stretching across the night sky,” he said.
“But these days, few people have ever truly seen it.” A planetarium, he added, can help “open people’s eyes and minds to the reality of our situation here on our little planet.” He also described the gift as a way to give back to the university that shaped him.
“UA Little Rock was an important element in my personal development, and I have not done much to pay it back,” McMath said.
He called the planetarium “an ambassadorial and educational tool for the university,” and “an investment in the community that will build pride in the university among city residents and help people better understand our place in the universe.” With the endowment growing and reopening planned for the fall, supporters say the Shellam Flake Planetarium is being positioned as a long-term asset for UA Little Rock and Central Arkansas.