Arkansas Tech University (ATU) 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 ...

Russellville, Arkansas Russellville is the county seat and largest city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States, with a 2021 estimated population of 29,338. It is home to Arkansas Tech University. Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas' only nuclear power plant is nearby. Rus ...

. The university offers programs at both baccalaureate and graduate levels in a range of fields. The Arkansas Tech University–Ozark Campus, a two-year satellite campus in the town of

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

, primarily focuses on associate and certificate education.

History

Early history (1909–76)

The Second District Agricultural School was created by Act 100 of 1909 of the

Arkansas General Assembly The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 ...

. It was decided on February 10, 1910, to found the school in Russellville. Construction of the school's Main Building began on April 10, 1910, with contracts for additional buildings let in June 1910. On October 26, 1910, the first classes were held in Russellville. The original purpose of the school was to offer a secondary (or high school) education in agricultural and technical subjects. Later on, the school took on the first two years of college instruction, and the school's name was changed to Arkansas Polytechnic College by the General Assembly in 1925 to reflect this change in purpose. The school became a two-year junior college in 1927 and, at the end of the 1929-1930 academic year, stopped offering high school classes.

Recent history (1976–present)

The school took on its current name of Arkansas Tech University on July 9, 1976. In the fall of 2003, Arkansas Tech University announced it intended to take over the state vocational school, Arkansas Valley Technical Institute, in Ozark, the seat of Franklin County. As of July 1, 2004, the Ozark campus has acted as a satellite campus of Arkansas Tech and has begun offering coursework leading toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in various subjects. From 1997 to 2015, enrollment at Arkansas Tech increased by 183 percent. The fall of 2015 marked the 17th consecutive year that Arkansas Tech established a new institutional record for largest enrollment at 12,054 students, making ATU the 3rd largest institution of higher learning in the state. Arkansas Tech has invested $180 million in upgrades to its infrastructure since 1995 and the university has added more than 40 new academic programs of study under the leadership of Robert C. Brown, who has served as president of Arkansas Tech since 1993. In April 2014, Dr.

Robin E. Bowen Robin E. Bowen (née Hayes) is an American academic who served as president of Arkansas Tech University from 2014 to 2023. Bowen grew up in Carl Junction, Missouri, the daughter of Judy and Eugene Hayes. Her father operated a service station, but ...

was selected by the university trustees selected to succeed Brown. When she took office on 1 July 2014, she became the first woman to lead a four-year, public Arkansas university.

Facilities on National Register of Historic Places

Several Tech buildings are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. * Caraway Hall — Residence Hall, renovated in 2005. * Old Art Building — Retired academic building. Now known as Browning Hall, renovated in 2013 to house administrative offices. * Hughes Hall — Residence Hall, renovated in 2010. * Techionery — Academic building, mainly used as a theatre shop and performance space by the ATU Theatre Department. * Williamson Hall — Academic building, renovated in 2003 to include kitchen facilities. * Wilson Hall — Residence Hall.

Academics

College of Applied Sciences

*Agriculture *Computer and Information Science *Electrical Engineering *Emergency Management *Mechanical Engineering *Parks, Recreation and Hospitality Administration

College of Arts & Humanities

*Art *Behavioral Sciences *English *Foreign Language *History & Political Science *Music *Speech, Theatre, and Journalism

College of Business

*Accounting *Management and Marketing *Business Data Analytics *Economics and Finance *Business Education

College of Natural & Health Sciences

*Biological Sciences *Mathematics *Nursing *Physical Sciences

College of Education

*Curriculum and Instruction *Health and Physical Education *Student Affairs Administration

College of Professional Studies and Community Outreach

*Early Childhood Education *General Studies *Professional Studies

Academic Centers

*Academic Advising Center *Center for Teaching and Learning *Crabaugh Communication Programs *Energy Center *Museum *Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center *Student Support Services

Student life

Residential halls

*Baswell Hall *Brown Hall (Male only) *Caraway Hall (Sorority only) *Hughes Hall *Jones Hall *M Street Hall *Nutt Hall *Paine Hall *Stadium Suites *Tucker Hall *Turner Hall (Female only) *University Commons Apartments *Vista Place Apartments *Wilson Hall

Greek system

;Fraternities *

Alpha Tau Omega Alpha Tau Omega (), commonly known as ATO, is an American social fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865 by Otis Allan Glazebrook. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters and colonies in the United Stat ...

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha or simply KA, is a social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity and a fraternal order founded in 1865 at Washington and Lee University, Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) i ...

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 30 ...

Sigma Pi Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity with 233 chapters at American universities. As of 2021, the fraternity had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 110,000 alumni. Sigma Pi headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee. The fraternity ...

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College (now the University of Richmond), and its national headquarte ...

Phi Lambda Chi Phi Lambda Chi (), commonly known as Phi Lamb, is a social collegiate fraternity founded at the Arkansas State Teachers College (now the University of Central Arkansas) in 1925. It was formerly a member of the North American Interfraternity Confe ...

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...

;Sororities *

Alpha Sigma Tau Alpha Sigma Tau (known as or Alpha Tau) is a national sorority founded on November 4, 1899, at Eastern Michigan University (formerly Michigan State Normal College). A member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the sorority has 83 active colleg ...

Delta Zeta Delta Zeta (, also known as DZ) is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Delta Zeta has 170 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada, and over 200 alumnae chapters in Cana ...

Zeta Tau Alpha Zeta Tau Alpha (known as or Zeta) is an international Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Its Internatio ...

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achie ...

Phi Mu Phi Mu () is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. The fraternity was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia as the Philomathean Society on , and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same ye ...

;Service / Co-ed *

Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,0 ...

; Music Greek Fraternities and Sororities: *

Sigma Alpha Iota Sigma Alpha Iota () is a women's music fraternity. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its m ...

Tau Beta Sigma Tau Beta Sigma Honorary Band Sorority, (, colloquially referred to as TBSigma or TBS) is a co-educational service sorority. The sorority, headquartered at the historic Stillwater Santa Fe Depot in Stillwater, Oklahoma, numbers over 3,800 active ...

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

Athletics

Arkansas Tech participates in

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 ...

athletics as a charter member of 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 ...

. Tech was a member of the

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the Mid ...

from 1995 to 2011. Previously, Tech was a member of the

Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference The Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) was an athletic conference in existence from 1927 or 1928 to 1995 affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference membership consisted entirely of colleges ...

in the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

. The university fields four men's and six women's varsity sports, as well as a club sports program: ;Men's sports *

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

;Women's sports *

* Cross Country *

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

;Club / Recreation sports *Cycling *Fishing *Paddlers *Soccer

Facilities

Arkansas Tech pitcher Bryson Morris Feb 2014

Arkansas Tech University has dual nicknames: men's athletic teams are called the Wonder Boys, while the women's teams are called the Golden Suns. Thone Stadium at Arkansas Tech University

Thone Stadium at Arkansas Tech University

*Chartwells Women's Sports Complex (tennis, softball) *Hull Building (Athletic Training, Athletic Performance Development, intramurals) *Tech Field (baseball, capacity 600) *Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field (football, capacity 6,500) *Tucker Coliseum (basketball/volleyball, capacity 3,500)

Nicknames

On November 15, 1919, John Tucker, a 17-year-old freshman from Russellville, scored two touchdowns and kicks two extra points to lead the Second District Agricultural School Aggies to a 14–0 upset win over Jonesboro. In newspaper accounts following the game, Tucker and his teammates were referred to as "Wonder Boys," and the nickname remains to this day. Tucker was labeled as "The Original Wonder Boy" and was associated with the school for the rest of his life. He went on to play on the University of Alabama's Rose Bowl team in 1931 and served Arkansas Tech in a variety of roles – including coach, athletic director and chemistry professor – between 1925 and 1972. Two buildings on the Tech campus – Tucker Coliseum and Tucker Hall – are named in his honor. Tired of being referred to as the Wonder Girls or Wonderettes, the female athletes of Arkansas Tech held a contest in the spring of 1975 to determine what their new mascot would be. Several names were nominated, but in the end, the athletes selected Golden Suns as their new nickname.

Notable alumni

* Denny Altes (Bachelor of Business Administration), clergyman and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

former 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 ...

from District 63; former member of the

Arkansas State 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 ...

and former Senate Minority Leader * Leon L. "Doc" Bryan (Class of 1942), U.S. Navy veteran
Arkansas Hall of Distinction member
Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (1965 - 1995), Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives (1993 - 1995), honored by naming th
Doc Bryan Student Services Center
by the ATU Board of Trustees in 1998. *

John Burris John Leonard Burris (born May 8, 1945) is an American civil rights attorney, based in Oakland, California, known for his work in police brutality cases representing plaintiffs. The John Burris law firm practices employment, criminal defense, DUI, ...

, member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Boone County *Robert E. Dale (bachelor's degree in mathematics),

member of the

from District 68 in Pope and Van Buren counties; former member of the Dover School Board in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

* Trevor Drown (Class of 2001), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Pope and Van Buren counties since 2015;

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

U.S. Senate nominee in 2010 *Jane English (Class of 1981, economics/finance), Republican member of the

from District 34 in Pulaski County *

Jon Eubanks Jon S. Eubanks is an American politician, farmer, and accountant serving as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the 74th district. First elected in 2010, he also serves as speaker pro tempore of the House. Early life and educ ...

(B.S. in accounting, 1990), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from

Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States: * Logan County, Arkansas * Logan County, Colorado * Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895) * Logan County, Illinois * Logan County, Kansas * Logan County, ...

Elizabeth Gracen Elizabeth Ward Gracen (born Elizabeth Grace Ward, April 3, 1961) is an American actress and beauty pageant contestant who won the title of Miss America in 1982. Early life and education Elizabeth Grace Ward was born on April 3, 1961, in Oz ...

(Attended), Former Miss America in 1982. She won the contest when she was a junior accounting major at Arkansas Tech. * Michael Lamoureux, Republican; former Arkansas State Representative from District 68 (Pope County) 2005-2009; former Arkansas State Senator from District 4, 2009–2013; former Arkansas State Senator from District 16 (Newton and Pope counties and parts of Boone, Carroll and Van Buren counties) 2013-2014; chief of staff to the governor of Arkansas 2015–present *

Andrea Lea Andrea Christine Lea (born 1957) is an American politician who served as the Arkansas State Auditor and is a Republican former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Russellville, Arkansas. She was elected state auditor on Novembe ...

(B.S. in emergency administration and management), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Russellville since 2009; candidate for state auditor in 2014 *

Kelley Linck Kelley J. Linck (born November 10, 1963) is a partner, lobbyist and consultant with WSG Consulting, LLC in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was formerly with Mullenix and Associates, LLC in Little Rock and previously served as the chief of legislative ...

(B.S. in business administration, 1986), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Marion County since 2011 *

Tanner Marsh Tanner Marsh (born May 29, 1990) is a professional American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. College career He played college football for the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys for one season after transferring from West Texas A ...

, Montreal Alouettes quarterback of the Canadian Football League. * Rebecca Petty (B.S. in criminal justice, 2013), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Benton County since 2015; advocate of child crime victims, resident of

Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) * Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...

, Arkansas *Marcus Richmond (B.S. in physical education), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from multi-county District 21 in western Arkansas * Tray Scott (Class of 2008) Defensive Line Coach at the University of Georgia * Greg Standridge (B.S. in business, 1987), Republican member of the Arkansas State Senate for Pope, Newton, Boone, Carroll and Van Buren counties since 2015; insurance agent in Russellville * Boyd Anderson Tackett, Democratic

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Arkansas's 4th congressional district Arkansas's 4th congressional district is a congressional district located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Notable towns in the district include Camden, Hope, Hot Springs, Magnolia, Pine Bluff, and Texarkana. The ...

, 1949 to 1953 *

Steve Womack Stephen Allen Womack ( ; born February 18, 1957) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2011. The district, which was once represented by future Senator J. William Fulbright, covers much of northwestern Arkansas ...

, Republican U.S. representative from Arkansas's 3rd congressional district, 2010–Present *

Eliah Drinkwitz Eliah Drinkwitz (born April 12, 1983) is an American football coach who is the head coach at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. He previously served as the head coach at Appalachian State University in 2019 and as an assistant co ...

, (B.A. social studies education, 2004), Head Football Coach, University of Missouri.

References

External links

*
Arkansas Tech Athletics website
{{Coord, 35.294371, N, 93.133783, W, source:dewiki_region:US-AR_type:edu, format=dms, display=title Public universities and colleges in Arkansas Technological universities in the United States Education in Pope County, Arkansas Russellville, Arkansas 1909 establishments in Arkansas Educational institutions established in 1909