Arkansas

Southern Arkansas University began as a residential agricultural high school, the Third District Agricultural School, in 1909. The school evolved into a junior college, popularly known as Magnolia A&M College, and later into a four-year institution, Southern State College. These four institutions served, primarily, young people of southwest Arkansas and provided extraordinary support to students, often the first in their families to seek degrees. The schools' educational value has been exceptional, as measured in graduates' achievements. Distinguished graduates have included, among many others, Gen. Horace Wade, '36, vice chief of staff, US Air Force; Leland Tollett, '56, president of Tyson Foods; Harry Thomason, '62, Hollywood producer and director; Cinda Hallman, '66, CEO, Spherion Corporation; Joyce Elliot, '73, Arkansas state senator and educational reformer; Joan Dempsey, '81, deputy director, US Central Intelligence Agency; and Fernando Barbosa, '92, managing director, Walt Disney Television International.

The University of Arkansas has a celebrated history that includes not only winning athletic teams, but also academic successes.

While most people immediately think of the Razorbacks in association with the University of Arkansas, the state’s flagship educational institution has so much more to offer. First established in 1871 in Fayetteville, located in the scenic Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas, the first permanent building on campus, Old Main, is also the most iconic with its towers standing like beacons. In 1948, the University of Arkansas became the first Southern university to integrate when WWII veteran Silas Hunt enrolled in law school; like Hunt, the lives and accomplishments of individuals, such as Sen. J. William Fulbright and architect E. Fay Jones, remain intertwined with the university and the world. Students remain the lifeblood of the university though, participating in traditions like homecoming, Senior Walk, and Razorback athletics with fierce pride. The photographs in this collection tell the stories of the first 125 years of the University of Arkansas.

"The University of Central Arkansas (UCA) began its life as the Arkansas State Normal School in 1907. Originally intended to bolster Arkansas's teaching pool by training professional educators, the school hosted 9 academic departments, 1 building, 107 students, and 7 faculty members. The school renamed itself the Arkansas State Teachers College in 1925 and became the University of Central Arkansas in 1975. UCA now has around 12,000 students, 400 full-time faculty, 150 total degrees and certificates, and more than 120 buildings on over 350 acres. UCA was one of the first schools in the nation to create an honors program, the Norbert O. Schedler Honors College, which still thrives today. The University of Central Arkansas has positioned itself as a beacon of academic progress in Arkansas and continues to grow with Conway's booming population sector."