McAdams College of Business Scholarship Endowment

Herbert McAdams II was a longtime Arkansas banker who first established his banking career in Jonesboro, AR and later in Little Rock, AR. He grew up in Jonesboro before attending Northwestern University on a basketball scholarship. After graduating from law school he joined the Navy and was injured in WWII where he spent 18 months in a Navy hospital. After making his initial fortune as a stockholder with Arkla Gas Company, McAdams began his banking career. He was co-founder of Lake City Bank which he later moved to Jonesboro, where he bought Citizens Bank and merged the two in 1950. He would go on to be the majority stockholder in Citizens Bank, The Bank of Nettleton, Security Bank of Paragould, and Union National Bank in Little Rock. He was active in politics working extensively with the Democratic National Party during the 1992 Presidential Campaign. He was a key figure in Bill Clinton being elected President of the United States. McAdams also served on several hospital, museums, and community organization boards, as well as being a philanthropist. He passed away in 2001.