The University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

Monticello, Arkansas Monticello ( ) is a college town in, and the county seat of, Drew County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 9,467. Founded in 1849 in the Arkansas Timberlands near the Arkansas Delta region, the city has long be ...

with Colleges of Technology in Crossett and McGehee. UAM is part of the

University of Arkansas System 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 rese ...

and offers master's degrees, baccalaureate degrees, and associate degrees. The city is in the

Arkansas Timberlands The Arkansas Timberlands (sometimes also called Southern Arkansas or Southwest Arkansas) is a region of the U.S. state of Arkansas generally encompassing the area south of the Ouachita Mountains, south of Central Arkansas and west of the Arkansa ...

, and UAM is home to the state's only School of Forest Resources. The university is governed by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees, which also oversees the operation of universities and other post-secondary educational institutions in Batesville, DeQueen, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Helena,

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, Morrilton, and

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff is the eleventh-largest 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 Combin ...

. UAM offers in-state tuition rates not only to Arkansas residents but also to regional residents of Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Tennessee.

History

The University of Arkansas at Monticello was established in 1909 by an act of the Arkansas General Assembly to serve the educational needs of southern Arkansas. Originally called the Fourth District Agricultural School, the school opened its doors September 14, 1910. In 1925, the General Assembly authorized the school's name to be changed to the Arkansas Agricultural and Mechanical College. Arkansas A&M received accreditation as a

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

in 1928, and as a four-year institution in 1940. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Arkansas A&M College was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the

V-12 Navy College Training Program The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...

, which offered students a path to a Navy commission. Arkansas A&M became part of the

on July 1, 1971. It then became designated as the University of Arkansas at Monticello. From 1969 to 1972, the University of Arkansas System increased its racial diversity and serving the state population by adding three new campuses: in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, Pine Bluff, and Monticello. These cities either already had numerous Black students, or, which in the case of the new campus in Little Rock, would soon admit Black students. On July 1, 2003, the University of Arkansas at Monticello expanded its mission to include vocational and technical education. The UAM College of Technology-Crossett and the UAM College of Technology-McGehee became part of the University of Arkansas at Monticello, creating a larger system of post-secondary education in Southern Arkansas. In July 2018, the School of Agriculture merged with the School of Forestry and Natural Resources to become the School of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources.

Laboratory school

The Drew County School Board established the A & M Training School #5 as a

laboratory school A laboratory school or demonstration school is an elementary or secondary school operated in association with a university, college, or other teacher education institution and used for the training of future teachers, educational experimentation, ...

for the college. In 1934 school district's name changed to

Drew Central School District Drew Central School District 5 is a public school district located in Drew County, Arkansas. Established in 1927, the school district covers , almost all in rural Drew County, from where all the students are bussed into Monticello.

#5. A fire destroyed the school buildings, and growth in the population of both the school district and the college resulted in the school district becoming independent of the college. The college gave the school district a 99-year lease to a plot of land. Originally that land was large. In 1983 the district added to the lease.History of the Drew Central Schools
" Drew Central School District. Retrieved on October 15, 2017.

Organization

UAM is composed of eight distinct schools and colleges: * School of Computer Information Systems * School of Nursing * School of Business * School of Arts and Humanities * School of Education * School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences: The School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences is the school of sciences of the university. It is located in the Science Center Building. The school employs 23 faculty and offers Bachelor of Science degrees in four major areas: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences. It has around 176 students enrolled in its major and minor programs. The school is also home to pre-professional programs in: Allied Health, Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Engineering, Pre-Medicine, Pre-Optometry, and Pre-Pharmacy. * School of Social and Behavioral Sciences * College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources: This is the only Forestry school in the State of Arkansas. It is appropriately located in the timber-producing region of Arkansas. UAM also has one specialized division, the Division of Music.

Campus

The main campus in Monticello has two single-sex dormitories and two coeducational suite dormitories. The former are Horsfall Hall for women and Royer Hall for men, and the latter two are Bankston Hall and Maxwell Hall. University Apartments is for single upperclassman students. There is also a complex for married students, students with families, and university faculty, HHFA Apartments. The family housing is in the boundary of the

, which operates three schools that serve dependent minors living in the UAM family complex: Drew Central Elementary School, Drew Central Middle School, and

Drew Central High School Drew Central High School is a public secondary school in Monticello, Arkansas, United States. It is part of Drew Central School District, which serves rural Drew County and a small section of Monticello. It in a section of the Monticello city li ...

Athletics

University of Arkansas at Monticello athletic teams are known as the Boll Weevils and Cotton Blossoms. UAM is a member of the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

and currently competes within the

Great American Conference The Great American Conference (GAC) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, with headquarters located in Russellvill ...

(GAC) for ten sports, including: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, softball, and women's volleyball. In 2011 the university left the Gulf South Conference to become a charter member of the

(GAC) with six other GSC member schools.

Notable alumni

Derick Armstrong Derick Armstrong (born April 2, 1979) is a former gridiron football wide receiver. He most recently played for the Edmonton Eskimos and the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. Early life Armstrong was born in Jasper, Texas. He attended Ty ...

, professional football player *

Gene Jeffress Harmon "Gene" Jeffress (born October 18, 1948) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the Arkansas Senate, representing District 25 from 2003 to 2013. Career Jeffress earned his bachelor's degree in ...

, member of the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

* Art Kaufman, college football coach *

Jeff Wardlaw Jeffrey Reed "Jeff" Wardlaw (born August 25, 1980) is a farmer from Hermitage in Bradley County in south Arkansas who is a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for District 8, which he has represented since 2011. His dist ...

, member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

References

External links

*
University of Arkansas at Monticello Athletics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkansas at Monticello, University of

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

University of Arkansas at Monticello 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 ...

1910 establishments in Arkansas Educational institutions established in 1910