Arkansas Tech University

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Arkansas Tech University
ArkTechUniv-logo.svg
TypePublic university
Established1909
Academic affiliations
Space-grant
PresidentDr. Robin E. Bowen
Students8,892 (Fall 2020)[1]
Undergraduates8,163[1]
Postgraduates729[1]
Location
Russellville
,
Arkansas
,
United States
CampusRural, 516 acres (2.09 km2)
ColorsGreen and Gold[2]
   
NicknameWonder Boys (men)
Golden Suns (women)
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division II – GAC
MascotWonder Boys & Golden Suns
Websitewww.atu.edu
Arkansas Tech University 2020 logo.svg

Arkansas Tech University (ATU) is a public university in Russellville, Arkansas. The university offers programs at both baccalaureate and graduate levels in a range of fields. Arkansas Tech welcomed its first doctoral cohorts in the Summer of 2015. The Arkansas Tech University–Ozark Campus, a two-year satellite campus in the town of Ozark, primarily focuses on associate and certificate education.

History[]

Early history (1909–76)[]

Aerial view of Arkansas Tech University, 2008

The Second District Agricultural School was created by Act 100 of 1909 of the Arkansas General Assembly. It was decided on February 10, 1910, to found the school in Russellville. On October 26, 1910, the first classes were held in Russellville. The original purpose of the school was to offer classes leading to a high school degree. 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. At this time, the course work leading to a high school diploma was phased out and in 1931, Tech formally only offered courses leading to a college degree.

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 overtake 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.

On Oct. 23, 2013, Jerry the Bulldog was adopted as Arkansas Tech's campus ambassador after a 76-year absence from the school.

From 1997 to 2015, enrollment at Arkansas Tech has increased by 183 percent. The fall of 2015 marked the 17th consecutive year that Arkansas Tech has established a new institutional record for largest enrollment at 12,054 students, also officially making ATU the 3rd largest institution of higher learning in the state of Arkansas.

Term Total Students
Fall 2009 8,814
Fall 2010 9,815
Fall 2011 10,464
Fall 2012 10,950
Fall 2013 11,369
Fall 2014 12,002
Fall 2015 12,054
Fall 2016 11,894
Fall 2017 11,830
Fall 2018 12,101

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 was unanimously selected by the university trustees selected to succeed Dr. Brown; when she took office on 1 July 2014, she became the first woman to lead a four-year, public Arkansas university.[3]

Facilities on National Register of Historic Places[]

Several Tech buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4]

  • 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[]

Academic centers[]

Student life[]

Residential halls[]

Greek system[]

Fraternities Sororities Service / Co-ed Band / Music

Athletics[]

Current athletics logo
Main article: Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys and Golden Suns

Arkansas Tech participates in NCAA Division II athletics as a charter member of the Great American Conference. Tech was a member of the Gulf South Conference from 1995 to 2011. Previously, Tech was a member of the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The university fields four men's and six women's varsity sports, as well as a club sports program:

Athletics logo (c. 1982)

Facilities[]

  • 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[]

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.

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.[5]

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.[6]

  • Baseball pitcher Bryson Morris in 2014

  • Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field

Notable alumni[]

Notable alumni[]

  • Denny Altes (Bachelor of Business Administration), clergyman and Republican former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from District 63; former member of the Arkansas State Senate 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 the Doc Bryan Student Services Center by the ATU Board of Trustees in 1998.
  • John Burris, member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Boone County
  • (bachelor's degree in mathematics), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from District 68 in Pope and Van Buren counties; former member of the Dover School Board in Dover[7]
  • Trevor Drown (Class of 2001), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Pope and Van Buren counties since 2015; Libertarian Party U.S. Senate nominee in 2010[8]
  • (Class of 1981, economics/finance), Republican member of the Arkansas State Senate from District 34 in Pulaski County[9]
  • (B.S. in accounting, 1990), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Logan County[10]
  • Elizabeth Gracen (Attended), Former Miss America in 1982. She won the contest when she was a junior accounting major at Arkansas Tech.[11]
  • 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 (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[12]
  • Kelley Linck (B.S. in business administration, 1986), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Marion County since 2011[13]
  • Tanner Marsh, Montreal Alouettes quarterback of the Canadian Football League.[14]
  • 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, Arkansas[15]
  • Marcus Richmond (B.S. in physical education), Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from multi-county District 21 in western Arkansas[16]
  • 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[17]
  • Boyd Anderson Tackett, Democratic U.S. representative from Arkansas's 4th congressional district, 1949 to 1953[18]
  • Steve Womack, Republican U.S. representative from Arkansas's 3rd congressional district, 2010–Present[19]
  • Eliah Drinkwitz, (B.A. social studies education, 2004), Head Football Coach, University of Missouri.[20]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "ATU Announces Preliminary Fall 2020 Enrollment". Arkansas Tech University. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  2. ^ Academic Brand Standards Manual (PDF). Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  3. ^ LAKANA (22 April 2014). "Election of New Arkansas Tech University President is Historic for State". Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  4. ^ "National Register of Historical Places - ARKANSAS (AR), Pope County". Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  5. ^ Turrentine, G. R.; Tucker, John E. "History of Arkansas Polytechnic College" (PDF). Arkansas Tech University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Arkansas Tech University Athletics". Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Robert Dale, R-68". arkansashouse.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  8. ^ "Trevor Drown". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  9. ^ "Jane English's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  10. ^ "Jon Eubanks, R-74". arkansashouse.org. Archived from the original on January 5, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  11. ^ Thomas DeBlack. "A Century Forward: The Centennial History of Arkansas Tech University." Walsworth Publishing Company. 2016.
  12. ^ "Andrea Lea, R-71". arkansashouse.org. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  13. ^ "Kelley Linck, R-99". arkansashouse.org. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  14. ^ "Wonder Boy Tanner Marsh for the Win!". Sporting Life Arkansas. 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  15. ^ "Rebecca Petty's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  16. ^ "Marcus Richmond's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  17. ^ "Greg Standridge's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  18. ^ "Boyd Anderson Tackett". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  19. ^ "Steve Womack". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  20. ^ "Eliah Drinkwitz - Head Coach - Staff Directory". University of Missouri Athletics. Retrieved 2020-11-30.

External links[]

Coordinates: 35°17′40″N 93°08′02″W / 35.294371°N 93.133783°W / 35.294371; -93.133783

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