Type | State university system |
---|---|
Chairman | John Goodson |
President | Donald Bobbitt |
Administrative staff | 17000 |
Students | 60,000 |
Address | 2404 North University Avenue , , , United States |
Website | uasys.edu/ |
The University of Arkansas System is a state university system in the U.S. state of Arkansas. It comprises six campuses; a medical school; two law schools; a graduate school focused on public service; a historically black college, statewide research, service, and educational units for agriculture, criminal justice, archeology; and several community colleges. Over 50,000 students are enrolled in over 188 undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs.
Legally, the entire system carries the name University of Arkansas. Nonetheless, to avoid confusion with its flagship campus in Fayetteville, the system usually refers to itself as the University of Arkansas System and the Fayetteville campus usually refers to itself as the University of Arkansas.
The original and flagship campus was established in Fayetteville as Arkansas Industrial University in 1871 under the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act. The system now includes both of the state's land-grant colleges, as University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) was later designated as such under the 1890 Morrill Act; it left the system in 1927, but returned in 1972. The Division of Agriculture and UAM's forestry programs also contribute to the system's land-grant mission. The Division of Agriculture includes the statewide Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) and the Cooperative Extension Service (CES). AAES and CES were managed by the dean of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics on the Fayetteville campus until 1959, when the Board of Trustees established the statewide Division of Agriculture as a unit of the U of A System.[ citation needed ]
The University of Arkansas System as an organized educational alliance (system) could be said to date from the founding of UAPB (1873) or perhaps UAMS joining the system (1911). The Division of Agriculture was established in 1959 as a statewide system unit with its own line-item appropriation from the state Legislature. University of Arkansas President David Wiley Mullins, along with the Board of Trustees, brokered a series of mergers in the late 1960s. The Little Rock and Monticello campuses joined the system in 1969 (UALR) and 1971 (UAM), and UAPB returned to the system in 1972. In 1975, a University of Arkansas Board of Trustees policy officially adopted the name "University of Arkansas System" as an alternative identification for the system, along with the present names of the campuses, in order to allow the Fayetteville campus to continue its identification as the "University of Arkansas". The policy has been amended over the years as other campuses were added.
In March 2014, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees created eVersity, a 100% online university aimed to serve students who were unable to access traditional higher education campuses. The University of Arkansas System eVersity was the first and only public, online university in the state of Arkansas. [1] In November 2021, the University of Arkansas System acquired Grantham University, a for-profit online college based in Lenexa, Kansas, for $1 [2] It was renamed the University of Arkansas Grantham, into which eVersity was merged to become one institution. University of Arkansas Grantham now serves as the only 100% online institution for the entire system.
The administrative offices for the University of Arkansas System are located in Little Rock.
Up until 1982, the president was the chief administrative officer of the Fayetteville campus and the University of Arkansas System. In 1982, the position of chancellor was created to be the top administrator at the Fayetteville campus, and the title of president referred only to the University of Arkansas System.
President | Tenure |
---|---|
Noah P. Gates | 1871-1873 |
Albert W. Bishop | 1873-1875 |
Noah P. Gates | 1875-1877 |
Daniel Harvey Hill | 1877-1884 |
George M. Edgar | 1884-1887 |
Edward H. Murfee | 1887-1894 |
John L. Buchanan | 1894-1902 |
Henry S. Hartzog | 1902-1905 |
John N. Tillman | 1905-1912 |
John Hugh Reynolds (acting) | 1912-1913 |
John C. Futrall | 1913-1939 |
J. William Fulbright | 1939-1941 |
Arthur M. Harding | 1941-1947 |
Lewis Webster Jones | 1947-1951 |
John T. Caldwell | 1952-1959 |
Storm Whaley (acting) | 1959-1960 |
David Wiley Mullins | 1960-1974 |
Charles E. Bishop | 1974-1980 |
James E. Martin | 1980-1984 |
Ray Thornton | 1984-1990 |
B. Alan Sugg | 1990-2011 |
Donald R. Bobbitt | 2011–present |
Campus | Official name | Founded | Enrollment | Endowment | Athletics (nickname) | Division (NCAA) | Primary conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grantham | University of Arkansas Grantham | 1951 | 4,427 | ||||
Fayetteville | University of Arkansas | 1871 | 30,936 [3] | $1.7 billion | Razorbacks | Division I (FBS) | Southeastern (SEC) |
Little Rock | University of Arkansas at Little Rock | 1927 | 8,103 [4] | $136 million | Trojans | Division I (non-football) | Ohio Valley (OVC) |
Monticello | University of Arkansas at Monticello | 1910 | 3,762 | $22.8 million | Boll Weevils | Division II | Great American (GAC) |
Pine Bluff | University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | 1873 | 3,332 | $1.9 million | Golden Lions | Division I (FCS) | Southwestern (SWAC) |
Fort Smith | University of Arkansas at Fort Smith | 1928 | 7,329 | $38.8 million | Lions | Division II | Mid-America (MIAA) |
Location | Official name | Affiliated campuses | Founded | Enrollment | Endowment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Little Rock | University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences | Fayetteville | 1879 | 2,907 | $75.9 million |
(Neither one is officially independent of its parent campus, though the Bowen School of Law is on a separate campus from UALR proper)
Location | Campus | Official name | Founded | Enrollment | Endowment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fayetteville | University of Arkansas at Fayetteville | University of Arkansas School of Law | 1924 | 445 | $84.2 million |
Little Rock | University of Arkansas at Little Rock | William H. Bowen School of Law | 1975 | 450 | $43.4 million |
Location | Campus | Official name | Founded | Enrollment | Endowment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Little Rock | Independent | University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service | 2004 | 96 | $0.00 million |
Location | Campus | Preferred name | Founded | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|
De Queen | Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas | Cossatot | 1975 | 1,486 |
Batesville | University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville | UACC Batesville | 1997 | 1,745 |
Hope | University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana [5] | UAHT | 1965 | 1,358 |
Morrilton | University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton | UACC Morilton | 1961 | 2,421 |
Helena-West Helena | Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas | Phillips | 1965 | 2,350 |
North Little Rock | University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College | Pulaski Tech | 1945 | 6,576 |
Mena | University of Arkansas Rich Mountain | UA Rich Mountain | 1973 | 824 |
Lincoln County is located between the Arkansas Timberlands and Arkansas Delta in the U.S. state of Arkansas. It is also within the Pine Bluff metro area, and on the outer edge of the Central Arkansas region. The county is named for President Abraham Lincoln. Created as Arkansas's 65th county on March 28, 1871, Lincoln County has three incorporated cities, including Star City, the county seat and most populous city. The county contains 46 unincorporated communities and ghost towns, Cane Creek State Park at the confluence of Cane Creek and Bayou Bartholomew, and nine listings on the National Register of Historic Places to preserve the history and culture of the county.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a public historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or university in Arkansas. It was one of about 180 "normal schools" established by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. UAPB is part of the University of Arkansas System and Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is a public health sciences university in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is part of the University of Arkansas System and consists of six colleges, seven institutes, several research centers, a statewide network of community education centers, and the UAMS Medical Center.
The University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) is a public university in Monticello, Arkansas with Colleges of Technology in Crossett and McGehee. UAM is part of the University of Arkansas System and offers master's degrees, baccalaureate degrees, and associate degrees. The city is in the Arkansas Timberlands, and UAM is home to the state's only School of Forest Resources.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is a public research university in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the institution became a private four-year university under the name Little Rock University in 1957. It returned to public status in 1969 when it merged with the University of Arkansas System under its present name. The former campus of Little Rock Junior College is now (2019) the campus of Philander Smith University.
The University of Arkansas at Monticello College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources (CFANR) is located within the Henry H. Chamberlin Forest Resource Complex on the University of Arkansas at Monticello campus in Monticello, Arkansas. The Chamberlin Forest Resources Complex also houses the Arkansas Forest Resource Center. The school employs 17 faculty and offers Associate of Science, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Science degrees.
Jack Stephens Center is a 5,600-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States and was built in 2005. It is home to the school's men's basketball, women's basketball, men's wrestling, and women's volleyball teams, known as the Little Rock Trojans, and named in honor of billionaire philanthropist Jackson T. Stephens, who donated $22.4 million for the construction of the facility. The facility is located on the north end of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus, adjacent to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service State Office.
The UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law is a public law school, part of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The school is both American Bar Association (ABA) accredited and a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).
University of Arkansas Grantham is a public online university based in Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded in 1951 as Grantham Radio License School, it would eventually be renamed Grantham University. The then-for-profit school offered distance-education programs from 1951 until 2021, at which point it was entirely online. Grantham was purchased by the University of Arkansas System for one dollar in 2021, merging with the latter’s eVersity online program. It is composed of four colleges: the College of Business, Management, and Economics; the College of Humanities and Social Sciences; the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology; and the College of Nursing and Health Professions. It is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission.
John Clinton Futrall was an American football coach and college administrator. An alumnus of the Arkansas Industrial University, later renamed the University of Arkansas, he was the first head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks football program, serving from 1894 to 1896, while the school's mascot was still the Cardinal. Futrall later served as president of the University of Arkansas from 1913 to 1939. He was killed in an auto accident in 1939. The first student union on the University of Arkansas campus was named Futrall Memorial Hall in his honor when it opened later that year.
The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) is the statewide research component of the University of Arkansas System's Division of Agriculture. The Division also includes the Cooperative Extension Service. The AAES and CES work together to develop and test new agricultural technology and extend it to the public. Research faculty and staff are based on five university campuses, at five Research and Extension Centers; six research stations and seven specialized units.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is the agricultural research center for the University of Arkansas (UA).
The History of the University of Arkansas began with its establishment in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 1871 under the Morrill Act, as the Arkansas Industrial College. Over the period of its nearly 140-year history, the school has grown from two small buildings on a hilltop to a university with diverse colleges and prominent graduate programs. Its presidents have included Civil War general Daniel Harvey Hill, John C. Futrall, and J. William Fulbright.
David Wiley Mullins was an American academic. He was the president of University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas from 1960 to 1974, the second longest serving president.
UAMS College of Medicine is a medical school that is part of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, a state-run university in the U.S. state of Arkansas and part of the University of Arkansas System. The primary campus is in Little Rock and is affiliated with UAMS Medical Center, Arkansas Children's Hospital, and Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. A branch campus, UAMS Northwest is in Fayetteville. It is one of three medical schools in Arkansas, with NYITCOM in Jonesboro and Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Smith being the other two.
Carlos James is an American college baseball coach, formerly the head coach of the Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions baseball program. He was named to that position prior to the 2011 NCAA Division I baseball season.
Joseph Carter Corbin was a journalist and educator in the United States. Before the abolition of slavery, he was a journalist, teacher, and conductor on the Underground Railroad in Ohio and Kentucky. After the American Civil War, he moved to Arkansas where he served as superintendent of public schools from 1873 to 1874. He founded the predecessor of University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and was its first principal from 1875 until 1902. He ended his career in education spending a decade as principal of Merrill High School in Pine Bluff. He also taught in Missouri.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Arkansas in March 2020. The first case in Arkansas was reported on March 11, 2020, in Pine Bluff, Jefferson County. As of March 2022, there were 819,984 cumulative cases of COVID-19 with a total of 10,524 deaths.
The Little Rock–Pine Bluff media market, which encompasses the state capital and two of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. state of Arkansas, maintains a variety of broadcast, print and online media outlets serving the region. The Little Rock–Pine Bluff market includes 38 counties in the central, north-central and west-central portions of the state, serving a total population of 1,172,700 residents ages 12 and over as of 2021. As of September 2021, it is ranked as the 59th largest American television market by Nielsen Media Research and the 92nd largest American radio market by Nielsen Audio.