J’Wayne McArthur Family Scholarship Endowment

All J’Wayne McArthur ever wanted was to be a cowboy.

He arrived at Utah State University in 1956, a 20-year-old with a new spouse, the GI Bill, and a hard-earned share of western wisdom. Except for military service, J’Wayne’s life, including four intense years at a cattle ranch in Pinedale, Wyoming, had been experienced from the saddle.

“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have a horse…and a job to do. The move to Logan cost some real prospects at home. I wasn’t sure how I’d measure up in the city or the school.”

J’Wayne had always held education in high regard but wasn’t yet sure that a man of his means could afford the “opportunity” everyone’s always going on about. He decided to visit the College of Agriculture.

“The Elmer George Peterson Agriculture Science building appeared very prestigious, an important place where important people worked. I may have been a bit forward in asking to speak to the person in charge.”

To J’Wayne’s surprise, the acting dean of the college, Dr. Bill Bennett, invited him in for a visit. “After shaking my hand and offering me a seat, he asked about my life, where I was from, and what I hoped to do.”

By the end of the conversation, J’Wayne knew that he was where he was supposed to be. “Dr. Bennett turned out to be a good friend. I was very fortunate.”

Dr. Bennett had recognized something worthy in the young cowboy who had come to his office to inquire about work. He offered J’Wayne a $125 scholarship and a job, begun the next day, of installing display shelving for the college’s faculty publications. Little did J’Wayne know that his own research would one day grace those very shelves. A week later, Dr. Bennett hired him to care for the college’s beef cattle. J’Wayne’s career was underway.

For 30 years, J’Wayne (“Mac” to his friends) was professor and director of Utah State University’s horsemanship program. He taught riding, roping, shoeing, packing, breaking, trading, showing, and judging. He also authored seven western-themed books and more than his share of cowboy poetry. Demand for his classes always exceeded capacity, so as he had in every aspect of his life, J’Wayne did what needed to be done. He offered additional sections and taught evening courses to accommodate student and community need. In 1990, J’Wayne was honored as USU’s Teacher of the Year.

Today, he’s making his peace and settling old debts before the final ride west. The J’Wayne McArthur Family Scholarship Endowment is the return, with interest, on Dean Bennett’s $125 investment 63 years ago. The scholarship helps students who, like J’Wayne, simply need a leg up to realize their educational dreams.

J’Wayne has always been a cowboy. By all accounts, quite a good one. Thanks Mac!