Former name | Branch Normal College (1875–1927) Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College (1927–1972) [1] |
---|---|
Type | Public historically black university |
Established | 1873 |
Parent institution | University of Arkansas System |
Academic affiliations | Space-grant |
Chancellor | Laurence B. Alexander |
Students | 2,670 (Fall 2021) [2] |
Location | , , U.S. 34°14′32″N92°01′13″W / 34.2423°N 92.0203°W |
Campus | Urban |
Colors | Black and gold [3] |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division I – (FCS), Southwestern Athletic Conference |
Mascot | Golden Lions |
Website | www |
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 the state of Arkansas. UAPB is part of the University of Arkansas System and Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff was authorized in 1873 by the Reconstruction-era legislature as the Branch Normal College and opened in 1875 with Joseph Carter Corbin principal. A historically black college, it was nominally part of the "normal" (education) department of Arkansas Industrial University, later the University of Arkansas. It was operated separately as part of a compromise to get a college for black students, as the state maintained racial segregation well into the 20th century. (Although the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville was integrated when it opened in 1872, it soon became segregated after the end of Reconstruction and didn't start desegregation until 1948.) It later was designated as a land-grant college under the 1890 federal amendments to Morrill Land-Grant Acts. As Congress had originally established the land grant colleges to provide education to all qualified students in a state, in 1890 it required states maintaining segregated systems to establish a separate land-grant university for blacks as well as whites.
In 1927, the school severed its ties with the University of Arkansas and became Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College (Arkansas AM&N). It moved to its current campus location in 1929.
In the mid-1950s AM&N administrators asked students not to support civil rights causes perceived as radical by Arkansas politicians as they feared getting their funding cut by the state. John B. Pickhart, an alumnus of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, wrote that therefore AM&N being in Pine Bluff "might actually have slowed development of an integration movement" for that community. [4]
In 1972, Arkansas AM&N re-joined what is now the University of Arkansas System. As a full-fledged campus with graduate study departments, it gained its current name and university status in the process.
Since 1988, the university has gained recognition as a leading research institution in aquaculture studies, offering the state's only comprehensive program in this field. It supports a growing regional industry throughout the Mid-South (according to the school, aquaculture is a $167 million industry in Arkansas alone and worth approximately $1.2 billion in the Mississippi Delta region). In 2012, the program was enhanced by the addition of an Aquaculture/Fisheries PhD program.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is the oldest and largest HBCU in Arkansas.
UAPB is divided into eight academic divisions. [5]
UAPB is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. [6]
UAPB has the only comprehensive aquaculture program in Arkansas, established to help support the state's $167 million aquaculture industry. [7]
Since UAPB offers only one engineering degree program (agricultural engineering), it has a partnership with the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (UA) that allow qualified students to spend three years to complete an engineering related bachelor's degree at UAPB then automatic admissions into UA to complete their engineering bachelor's degree in two years. Students who successfully complete the UAPB-UA engineering program will have two bachelor's degrees in approximately five years. [8]
In 2019, UAPB established a partnership a with UALR William H. Bowen School of Law. UAPB students with at least a 3.4 cumulative GPA, minimum 154 LSAT score, and a clean disciplinary record will automatically be admitted. In addition to being admitted, they will receive a 25 percent tuition scholarship. [9]
The University Museum and Cultural Center on the campus of UAPB contains photographs, catalogs, yearbooks, letters, artifacts, portraits and other ephemera that document the lives and culture of African-Americans who helped shaped the history of UAPB and the Arkansas Delta. It is the only museum of its kind in Arkansas and was established in 2005. [10] [11] [12]
UAPB's colors are black and gold and their nickname is the Golden Lions. Arkansas–Pine Bluff's sports teams have participated in NCAA Division I in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) since re-joining the conference in 1998, and competes in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) for football. Home football games are held at Golden Lion Stadium. Men's sports also include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff houses over 1,000 students on campus. Hunt Hall houses male students. The Harrold Complex, consisting of four halls, Johnson, Copeland, Fischer, and Stevens, is for females. Freshman males are assigned to Johnson and Copeland.
Built in 1955, Hunt Hall was named in memory of Silas Hunt, the first black law student at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Hunt Hall has two floors and houses 134 male students.
Built in 1964, the Harrold Complex was named in memory of Norma E. Harrold, former Dean of Women. It has four halls and houses a total of 512 male and female students. Johnson Hall was named in honor of Nettie E. Johnson, a graduate of the class of 1903; Copeland Hall was named in memory of Ernestine Inez Copeland; Fischer Hall was named in memory of Rubye G. Fischer, a former principal of the J.C. Corbin Laboratory School on campus; and Stevens Hall was named for the late Maggie R. Stevens, a former counselor at Branch Normal College.
The Johnny B. Johnson Complex, JBJ, can house 288 students.
Built in 1991, the Complex was named in honor of Dr. Johnny B. Johnson, former Chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. JBJ has nine buildings and houses a total of 288 male and female students.
The newest residence hall is the new Delta Housing Complex. Built in 2003, this suite-style complex has 104 private rooms and 140 double rooms; it houses 388 students.[ dubious ]
In 2008, UAPB's band known as the Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South (M4), made their debut appearance at the Honda Battle of the Bands. In 2009, M4 was selected to participate in the United States Presidential Inaugural Parade. [13]
M4 is one of the top three largest collegiate marching bands in Arkansas and is accompanied by two auxiliaries. The dance auxiliary is known as the "Golden Girls" and the flag auxiliary is known as the "24K Golden Silks."
M4 is a five drum major led marching band.
Eight of the nine National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) fraternities and sororities are represented on campus. Less than five percent of the undergraduate student body are represented in the NPHC. The university also hosts four of the seven fraternity and sorority organizations part of the National Interfraternity Music Council (NIMC).
Name | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Martha S. Lewis | 1944 | government official in New York city and state | |
Chris Mercer | 1946 | first African-American deputy state prosecutor in the south | |
Danny K. Davis | 1961 | U.S. Representative for 7th Congressional District in Illinois | |
Samuel L. Kountz | 1952 | performed the first successful Kidney transplant between humans who were not identical twins | |
Jamil Nasser | 1955 | jazz musician, bassist | |
Tevester Anderson | 1962 | retired head basketball coach for Jackson State University and Murray State University | |
Frank Burgess | 1957 | professional basketball player; later an attorney and U.S. federal judge for the Western District of Washington Burgess only attended one year before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force. After serving a four-year tour, he transferred to Gonzaga University, where he eventually earned bachelor's and law degrees. | |
Joe Gardner | 1966 | jazz musician, trumpet | |
John Stubblefield | 1967 | jazz musician, sax, recording artist | |
James Leary | 1968 | jazz/classical musician, bass, Sammy Davis, Jr., Count Basie Orchestra, Oakland Symphony | |
L. C. Greenwood | 1969 | football player; former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman, a member of the famous Steel Curtain defense | |
Terron Armstead | professional football player currently with the New Orleans Saints | ||
Cleo Miller | 1973 | former professional football player | |
Cassius Cash | superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park | [14] | |
Ivory Lee Brown | 1991 | football player | |
Pamela A. Smith | 1992 | police chief | [15] |
Smokie Norful | 1995 | Pastor, Grammy award winning gospel singer and pianist | |
Chris Akins | 1999 | former NFL defensive back | |
Big Tuck | rapper | ||
Greg Briggs | NFL player | ||
Greg Wesley | 2000 | former professional football player | |
Dante Wesley | 2002 | former professional football player | |
Monk Williams | professional football player | ||
Courtney Van Buren | 2003 | former professional football player | |
Charles Ali | 2007 | former professional football player | |
Martell Mallett | Canadian football player currently with the Calgary Stampeders | ||
Don Zimmerman | former professional football player | ||
Jamie Gillan | 2019 | professional football player currently with the New York Giants |
Pine Bluff is the 10th most populous city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area. The population of the city was 41,253 in the 2020 census.
The University of Arkansas is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System. Founded as Arkansas Industrial University in 1871, classes were first held in 1872, with its present name adopted in 1899.
The University of Alabama is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the public universities in Alabama as well as the University of Alabama System. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) is a public research university in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is one of four campuses that make up the University of Colorado system. As of Fall 2017, UCCS had over 12,400 undergraduate and 1,822 graduate students, with 32% ethnic minority students. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
Southern University and A&M College is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and the flagship institution of the Southern University System. Its campus encompasses 512 acres, with an agricultural experimental station on an additional 372-acre site, five miles north of the main campus on Scott's Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section of Baton Rouge.
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, and archeology; and several community colleges. Over 50,000 students are enrolled in over 188 undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs.
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 Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox, says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep South."
The Delta Classic 4 Literacy was a college football game held between historically black colleges. It was held annually in Little Rock, Arkansas from 2006 to 2012.
Dollarway School District No. 2 (DSD) was a school district headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. With over 1,600 students and employing more than 300 educators and staff, the district had three active school campuses at the end of its life.
George Ivory is the head men's basketball coach for Mississippi Valley State University. He was the head men's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff from 2008 to 2021. Previously, Ivory was an assistant at Mississippi Valley State, his alma mater, from 1998–2002, 2007–2008, and 2021–2022.
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).
KUAP is a station broadcasting an urban contemporary music format. Licensed to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States, the station is owned by the board of trustees of the UA/UAPB and is based on the campus of University of Arkansas Pine Bluff.
Isaac Fisher was an American educator who graduated from Tuskegee Institute, served as principal at Branch Normal College, and taught at several other Historically Black Colleges and Universities. A protege of Booker T. Washington, he advocated vocational education.
The Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. The team is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The Golden Lions are coached by Carlos James.
Silas Herbert Hunt was a U.S. veteran of World War II who became the first African American student to enroll in a white Southern university since the Reconstruction era. He enrolled in the University of Arkansas School of Law on Feb. 2, 1948, breaking the color barrier in higher education and starting integration of colleges and universities in the South.
Charles "Doc" Gamble is an American football coach. He is currently the special teams coordinator at Florida A&M University and was previously the head football coach at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a position he held from 2020 through October 2022.
The 2021–22 Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions men's basketball team represented the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Lions, led by first-year head coach Solomon Bozeman, played their home games at the H. O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff, Arkansas as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Alonzo Mondeal Hampton is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a position he has held since 2023. He played college football for Louisiana–Monroe as a cornerback and professionally for the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe. He previously coached for Warren High School, Dumas High School, Arkansas–Pine Bluff, Western Kentucky, Tift County High School, South Florida, Oregon, Florida State, Arkansas, and Louisiana–Monroe.