Former Razorback football player and energy sector businessman Randy Lawson has been appointed to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees by Gov. Sarah Sanders. Lawson fills the post held by Tommy Boyer, who recently passed away.
Lawson’s term will expire March 1, 2027.
“Randy is a champion for Arkansas education, a great businessman, and a lifelong Razorback,” Gov. Sanders said in a statement. “I am honored to have him serve on the University of Arkansas’ Board of Trustees and continue his decades of service to our state. He is a close friend and I know he will help my administration spearhead our plans to make Arkansas’ higher education system better and more accessible to all.”
Lawson in 1985 founded the original entity of the Lawco Energy Group and later organized his multiple real estate companies and other affiliates, according to Friday’s (March 7) notice from the governor’s office.
He has prior experience in management with Gulf Oil Corporation in Houston and New Orleans. Lawson is a long-time member of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, serves on the Arvest Bank Benton County Board of Directors, and has served as the past chairman of the Board for Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas.
His other civic engagement includes past chairman of Economics Arkansas, an advisor on the Geosciences Advisory Board within the College of Arts and Science, an executive advisor to the Dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, former chairman and vice chairman of the Arkansas State Board of Education, a commissioner on the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, and former chairman of the Excellerate Foundation Board of Directors.
“I am truly honored that Governor Sanders offered me the opportunity to serve my alma mater, the University of Arkansas, on the Board of Trustees. I have been a Razorback my entire life and look forward to continuing to support my university. I am also looking forward to working with the current Board of Trustees and the entire leadership team at the U of A system to further the mission and strive for excellence in everything,” Lawson said.
Lawson was recognized in 2024 by his alma mater, the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, with the Lifetime Achievement Award. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas in 1981, and was a former Razorback football player under Coach Frank Broyles and Coach Lou Holtz.