The University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Monticello, Arkansas Monticello ( ) is a college town in, and the county seat of, Drew County, Arkansas. As of 2023, it had an estimated population of 8,175. Founded in 1849 in the Arkansas Timberlands near the Arkansas Delta region, the city has long been a comm ...

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, 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 own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, Morrilton, and

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff, officially the City of Pine Bluff, is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, tenth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, Jefferson County. The population of the city wa ...

. 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 is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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

, 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 experimentatio ...

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.." 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 (DCHS) 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 ...

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 the 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 environment ...

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 Russellvil ...

(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, professional football player * Gene Jeffress, 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 ...

Wes Johnson Wes Johnson (born June 6, 1961) is an American actor, cartoonist, comedian and voice artist, who has appeared in such films as ''A Dirty Shame'', ''Head of State (2003 film), Head of State'', ''The Invasion (film), The Invasion'', ''For Richer ...

, head baseball coach of the Georgia Bulldogs * Art Kaufman, college football coach * Jeff Wardlaw, member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

Notable UAM people

* Jimmie Yeiser (2012), Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

References

External links

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

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

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 degree ...

1910 establishments in Arkansas Universities and colleges established in 1910