Since its inception, the University of Arkansas System has developed a tradition of excellence that includes the state’s 1871 flagship, land-grant research university Arkansas’s premier institution for medical education, treatment, and research, a major metropolitan university, an 1890 land-grant university, two regional universities serving southern and western Arkansas five community colleges two schools of law a presidential school a residential math and science high school a 100 percent-online university and divisions of agriculture, archeology and criminal justice. The individual entities of the UA System maintain collective strength as well as diverse offerings that exhibit unmatched economic and social impact on the state.
The UA System provides Arkansas communities with access to academic and professional opportunities, develops intellectual growth and cultural awareness in its students, and provides knowledge and research skills to an ever-changing society. The system enrolls more than 60,000 students, employs over 17,000 employees, and has a total budget of over $2 billion. An intrinsic part of the texture and fabric of Arkansas, the UA System is a driving force in the state’s economic, educational and cultural advancement.
The University of Arkansas is a comprehensive, multi-campus, publicly aided institution dedicated to improving the mind and spirit through the development and dissemination of knowledge. The university embraces and expands the historic trust inherent in the land-grant philosophy by providing access to academic and professional education, developing intellectual growth and cultural awareness in its students, and applying knowledge and research skills to an ever-changing human condition.
The University of Arkansas System believes that employees are the key to making the state’s most extensive university system operate at its highest potential. We also believe that a healthy workforce equates to a happy and more fulfilling workplace.
The Arkansas General Assembly established the university in Fayetteville in 1871 as the Arkansas Industrial University. Under the Morrill Act of 1862, it became the state land-grant institution and first state-assisted college in Arkansas. On opening day, January 22, 1873, there were four teachers and eight students. Arkansas Industrial University became the University of Arkansas in 1899, reflecting the institution’s broadened academic mission.
In 1873, the university established a campus in Pine Bluff, named Branch Normal College, and later designated as a land-grant institution under the second Morrill Act of 1890. The college separated from the university in 1927 and was renamed Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal (AM&N) College. It rejoined the UA System in 1972 when it became the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the state’s oldest and largest historically black college. In 1879, the university accepted responsibility for the academic management and operation of a privately established nonprofit medical campus in Little Rock. This campus merged into the system in 1911 and is now known as the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
In 1959, the UA Board of Trustees created the Division of Agriculture as a separate administrative entity charged to coordinate an integrated agriculture program. The division is comprised of two central units: the Agriculture Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service. In 1969, Little Rock University joined the UA System, becoming the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the state’s leading metropolitan campus. In 1971, Arkansas A&M College joined the system and became the University of Arkansas at Monticello. The UAM Colleges of Technology in Crossett and McGehee were added in 2003.
Phillips Community College in Helena joined the system in 1996, becoming Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas. The college soon added campuses in Stuttgart and DeWitt. In 1996, Red River Technical College in Hope joined the system and was renamed the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope. In 1998, Gateway Technical College in Batesville joined the system with a county sales tax passage. It was renamed the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville, serving Independence and Cleburne counties. In 2001, Petit Jean College joined the system and was renamed the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton. In 2001, Cossatot Technical College joined the system and was renamed Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas. The college is located in De Queen with satellite campuses in Nashville and Ashdown. In 2002, Westark Community College joined the system and was renamed the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, beginning its transition from a two-year to a four-year institution.
The most recent additions to the UA System are the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts on January 1, 2004, the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service on July 1, 2004, and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in 2006. The UA Board of Trustees approved a resolution in 2012 to develop a System-wide online initiative, and the UA System launched eVersity – the state’s first 100 percent-online university – in September 2015.
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