The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

land-grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

, United States. It is the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

campus 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 ...

. Founded as Arkansas Industrial University in 1871, classes were first held in 1872, with its present name adopted in 1899. The university campus consists of 378 buildings spread across of land in Fayetteville, Arkansas. As of Fall 2023, total enrollment was 32,140. The university is

classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper * The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...

among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and had spent $164.4 million on research in FY 2021. The University of Arkansas's athletic teams, the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

, compete in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

as members of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) with eight men's teams and eleven women's teams in thirteen sports.

History

Early developments

The University of Arkansas was founded in 1871 on the site of a hilltop farm that overlooked the

Ozark Mountains 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, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

, giving it the nickname "The Hill"."Overview and Points of Pride.
Profile.
Retrieved on May 10, 2009. The university was established under the

Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally owned land, often obtained from Native American tribes through treaty, cessi ...

of 1862. The university's founding also satisfied the provision in the

Arkansas Constitution The Constitution of Arkansas is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of Arkansas delineating the duties, powers, structures, and functions of the state government. Arkansas' original constitution was adopted at a constitutional conv ...

of 1868 that the General Assembly was to "establish and maintain a State University."Reynolds, ''History of the University of Arkansas'' Bids from state towns and counties determined the university's location. The citizens of

Fayetteville Fayetteville may refer to: *Fayetteville, Alabama *Fayetteville, Arkansas ** The Fayetteville Formation *Fayetteville, Georgia *Fayetteville, Illinois *Fayetteville, Indiana *Fayetteville, Washington County, Indiana *Fayetteville, Missouri *Fayette ...

and Washington County. pledged the most: $130,000 toward securing the university. Classes started on January 22, 1872.

Notable landmarks

Completed in 1875,

Old Main Old Main is a term often applied to the original building present on college or university campuses in the United States. The building serves today as home to administrative offices, such as the president or provost, but in its early inception may ...

, a two-towered brick building designed in the Second Empire style, was the primary instructional and administrative building. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Its design was based on the plans for the main academic building at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, which has since been demolished.Robert A. Leflar, ''The First 100 Years: Centennial History of the University of Arkansas,''(Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Foundation, Inc., 1972) At Arkansas, the taller tower is the bell tower, and the shorter tower is the clock tower. In addition to the regular chimes of the clock, the university's Alma Mater plays at 5 pm every day. Old Main contains classrooms, the restored Giffels Auditorium, as well as the administrative offices of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. The lawn at Old Main serves as an arboretum. Beginning with the class of 1876, the names of students at University of Arkansas are inscribed in "Senior Walk" and wind across campus for more than four miles. More recently, the names of all the recipients of honorary degrees were added, including

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...

Queen Noor Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

. One unusual structure at Arkansas is the Chi Omega Greek Theatre, a gift to the school by the sorority's national headquarters. It marked the first time a national sorority presented a memorial of its foundation to the institution where it was founded.

Chi Omega Chi Omega (, also known as ChiO) is an American women's collegiate fraternity. It was established in 1895 at the University of Arkansas. Chi Omega has 181 active collegiate chapters and approximately 240 alumnae chapters. Since its founding in 18 ...

was organized in 1895, at the University of Arkansas, and is the mother (Psi) chapter of the national organization. The largest crowd ever assembled in the theatre was for a concert by the Army Air Corps Band during World War II. From 1934 to 1991, the space under the stage was used for a rifle range by the Army ROTC.

African American history and African studies program

The first African American student, James McGahee, attended the University of Arkansas in 1872, following the university's opening in 1871 during the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

, to “prepare for the ministry of the Episcopal Church”. He is noted as having a grade average deemed excellent. Alongside McGahee, two other African American men, Mark W. Alexander and Isom Washington, are noted as having attended Arkansas Industrial College, however no record of their enrollment has been found. Following the end of Reconstruction, the racial dynamic shifted at the university and it is unknown if McGahee was able to continue his education following 1873. Former state senator and U.S. congressman John N. Tillman served as president of the University of Arkansas from 1905 to 1912. In 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 ...

he proposed the Separate Coach Law of 1891, a

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...

law to segregate African American passengers. The bill became law and was enforced for many decades. The University of Arkansas admitted

Silas Herbert Hunt Silas Herbert Hunt (March 1, 1922 – April 22, 1949) was a U.S. veteran of World War II who became the first African American student to enroll in a white Southern university since the Reconstruction era. He enrolled in the University of Arkansas ...

of Texarkana, an African American veteran of World War II to the university's School of Law in 1948. Hunt's enrollment was regarded as the first successful school integration below the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...

of that era. While Hunt was admitted into the university, his attendance was not met without controversy. African American students were permitted to attend the university, under the condition that they enroll as graduate or law students, and be taught in segregated classes. Unfortunately, Silas Hunt was only able to complete one year of education. In April 1949, Hunt was admitted to the VA hospital, where he later died of tuberculosis, aggravated by injuries he had sustained in the war.

Roy Wilkins Roy Ottoway Wilkins (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was an American civil rights leader from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was his leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), ...

, administrator of the NAACP, wrote in 1950 that Arkansas was the "very first of the Southern states to accept the new trend without fighting a delaying action or attempting to... limit, if not nullify, bare compliance." In the fall of 1948 changes were made to the university's segregation policy, which allowed for the admittance of African American students into regular classes. The first to follow Hunt was a law school student by the name of Jackie L. Shropshire, would later go on to become the university's first black graduate in 1951. 1952 University of Arkansas Medical School graduate

Edith Irby Jones Edith Irby Jones (December 23, 1927 – July 15, 2019) was an American physician who was the first woman president of the National Medical Association and a founding member of the Association of Black Cardiologists. She was honored by many award ...

, who was also admitted to the University of Arkansas in 1948, would be the first African American to be admitted in any Southern school. Several African American students followed in his footsteps, attending various graduate programs at the university. Arkansas was freely admitting African American students as early as 1957, while many southern states still prohibited black students from attending all white universities. The events in

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 ...

at this time did some damage to race relations at the university that would not be fixed for some time. In 1969, the university created the Black Studies Advisory Committee to facilitate the creation of a

Black Studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

program, which began in the fall semester of 1968 with 19 courses offered. In 2004, the university provided resources to help support the program, establishing the John White Scholarship,

Sankofa (pronounced ''SAHN''-koh-fah) is a word in the Twi language of Ghana meaning “to retrieve" (literally "go back and get"; - to return; - to go; - to fetch, to seek and take) and also refers to the Bono people, Bono Adinkra symbols, Adinkra ...

Registered Student Organization, and

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

study abroad tour. In 2008, The Black Studies program was renamed the African and African American Studies (AAST) program and expanded its course offerings and student enrollment. In 2014, the program moved to a new space in Memorial Hall and was added to the University Core. A year later, an online minor and graduate certificate in African and African American Studies was established. The university hosted its first annual AAST Graduate Fellows search symposium in 2016 and established the Roy S. Bryce-Laporte scholarship later in 2018. In 2019, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees voted to rename halls B and C of the Northwest Quad in honor of Gordon Morgan and Margaret Clark, respectively. The university has also hosted guest lectures by Aldon D. Morris,

Carol Anderson Carol Elaine Anderson (born June 17, 1959) is an American academic. She is the Charles Howard Candler professor of African American Studies at Emory University. Her research focuses on public policy with regard to race, justice, and equality. In ...

, and

Nikole Hannah-Jones Nikole Sheri Hannah-Jones (born April 9, 1976) is an American investigative journalist known for her coverage of civil rights in the United States. She joined ''The New York Times'' as a staff writer in April 2015, was awarded a MacArthur Fellow ...

related to African and African American studies.

Notable people in African and African American history at the university

* Gordon Daniel Morgan – An alumnus and one of the first Black professors at the University of Arkansas, and was hired to teach sociology * Margaret Clark – One of the first Black professors at the University of Arkansas, and was hired to teach world languages * Gerald Jordan – attended the University of Arkansas School of Journalism and Media, and is the university's current Faculty and Athletics Representative to NCAA and SEC

Campus

University of Arkansas Agriculture Building

The University of Arkansas campus sweeps across hilltops on the western side of

. Among the 378 buildings on the campus, 11 buildings have been added to the

individually, with most buildings in the historic core being named as contributing properties to the

University of Arkansas Campus Historic District The University of Arkansas Campus Historic District is a historic district (United States), historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 2009. The district covers the historic core of the Univer ...

. Construction began on Old Main in 1873 and was completed by 1875 in the Second Empire architectural style. Built with local brick and

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, Old Main serves as the university's signature building. The building has remained on campus despite its recommended removal in the 1925 master plan from the architects of Jamieson and Spearl. This plan included destruction of all existing campus buildings and reconstruction in the

Collegiate Gothic Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...

style. Several buildings were built in this style near the core of campus, including the

Vol Walker Hall Vol Walker Hall (earlier Vol Walker Library) is a building on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It contains the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic P ...

Engineering Hall Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, systems. Modern engineering c ...

Chemistry Building Chemistry Building may refer to: * Gilman Hall, long known as the Chemistry Building, home of University of California at Berkeley College of Chemistry * Old Main and Chemistry Building at Widener University * Seeley G. Mudd Chemistry Building at V ...

, Agriculture Building, and Home Economics Building. The plan ran out of funds and was never completed, leading to a somewhat haphazard arrangement of buildings after the 1930s. The university's oldest tradition is Senior Walk, which contains the names of graduates from each class of the university. Beginning at the front steps of Old Main and running along the sidewalks across campus, Senior Walk is adorned with more than 170,000 names of former students. This tradition is unique to American universities. The Fine Arts Center was designed by

native

Edward Durell Stone Edward Durell Stone (March 9, 1902 – August 6, 1978) was an American architect known for the formal, highly decorative buildings he designed in the 1950s and 1960s. His works include the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City; the Parliament H ...

, who also designed

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York City and the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in Washington, D.C. The buildings are indicative of Stone's idiosyncratic modern style which included patterns of ornament. Stone also designed a fraternity house, now used for academic purposes, and an apartment complex named Carlson Terrace on campus, which has since been demolished. The east end of the University of Arkansas campus is adjacent to

Dickson Street The West Dickson Street Commercial Historic District, known as Dickson Street (historically spelled incorrectly as Dixon Street), is an area in downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas just off the University of Arkansas campus. It is lined with multiple ...

, which is one of the premier entertainment districts in the state. To the south of the university is Fayetteville High School, which contains nationally recognized academic and athletics programs. Many buildings are listed as part of the

on the United States

Sustainability

One of the university's stated goals is "promote environmental sustainability." In 2008, Arkansas adopted a climate action plan, including the goals of reducing

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

by 50% by 2020 and to become carbon-neutral by 2040. In 2008, the university signed a $22.9 million contract with Energy Systems Group to make energy improvements to 56 buildings, a program named "Razor's EDGE." The program was designed with a payback period of 13 years based upon projected electricity and water savings.

System facilities

Altogether there are thirteen branches and six other units in the

, including the

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is a Public university, public medical school in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is part of the University of Arkansas System and consists of six colleges, seven institutes, several research cente ...

; four-year campuses in Fayetteville, Fort Smith,

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 ...

, and Pine Bluff; and two-year community or technical college campuses in Batesville, De Queen, Helena-West 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 ...

Mena The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...

North Little Rock North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the twin city of Little Rock. In the late nineteenth century, it was annexed by Little Ro ...

, and Morrilton. Units also under the UA System include the

Clinton School of Public Service The University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service is a branch of the University of Arkansas system and is the newest of the presidential schools. It is located on the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. The school ...

, the Criminal Justice Institute, the Arkansas Archeological Survey, the Division of Agriculture, the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, and the

Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts (ASMSA) is a public residential high school located in Hot Springs, Arkansas that serves sophomores, juniors, and seniors. It is a part of the University of Arkansas administrative syste ...

. The University of Arkansas was the home for the

Southeastern Conference Academic Consortium The Southeastern Conference Academic Consortium in Birmingham, Alabama is a program initiated by the Southeastern Conference for its member institutions to collaborate on academic and scholastic efforts. The consortium was established in 2005 in Fa ...

, SECAC, where the 14 member schools of the

pool resources to assist each other academically (the Consortium later relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, where the SEC has its headquarters).

Academics

The University of Arkansas offers more than 200 programs of study leading to bachelors, masters, doctoral, and law degrees. Academic programs are organized into numerous departments and schools based out of the ten primary colleges on the main campus. The following degree-granting academic divisions are located on the Fayetteville campus: The Honors College and Global Campus do not award degrees but provide degree programs with honors coursework and distance education opportunities, respectively, for the Fayetteville campus:

Research

Vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight compounds related in molecular structure that includes four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. The tocopherols function as fat-soluble antioxidants which may help protect cell membranes from reactive oxygen speci ...

was co-discovered by UA Agricultural Chemistry Professor Barnett Sure. Sure co-discovered vitamin E and extended knowledge of how vitamin E, amino acids, and B-vitamins function on reproduction and lactation. Kik also developed the process for parboiling rice (a major agricultural crop in the state) to increase retention of vitamins and shorten cooking time. Sure and Kik were Agricultural Experiment Station scientists and professors in the UA Department of Agricultural Chemistry, which merged in 1964 with Home Economics, now the School of Human Environmental Sciences. In the 1920s, Loy Barton, an engineering graduate student at the University of Arkansas, set forth the principle of high-level Class B plate modulation for radio transmission and developed the technology that allowed small- and medium-size

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...

stations to flourish across the United States. Barnett later joined RCA and continued research on broadcast technology into the 1960s. The most widely implemented automated mail sorting equipment in the world–the Wide Area Bar Code Reader–was developed by the

University of Arkansas College of Engineering The College of Engineering is the University of Arkansas' college for engineering students. History The first engineering degree awarded by the university was in civil engineering in 1888. At the time, it was known as Arkansas Industrial Universi ...

. A $50,000 grant from the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

(USPS) to Professors Dwight F. Mix and J.E. Bass in 1989 began the research and development effort. By 1999, more than 15,000 University of Arkansas bar code readers were located in every major USPS facility, increasing the efficiency of processing 20 billion pieces of mail a year at a savings of $200 million. This R&D effort has spawned four additional electronic systems to help the USPS "read the mail." During the 1980s, Professors Allen Hermann and Zhengzhi Sheng of the Department of Physics researched

superconductivity Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in superconductors: materials where Electrical resistance and conductance, electrical resistance vanishes and Magnetic field, magnetic fields are expelled from the material. Unlike an ord ...

, the phenomenon whereby

Direct Current Direct current (DC) is one-directional electric current, flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor (material), conductor such as a wire, but can also flow throug ...

(DC) electricity, once started, can flow essentially forever. The

Thallium Thallium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Tl and atomic number 81. It is a silvery-white post-transition metal that is not found free in nature. When isolated, thallium resembles tin, but discolors when exposed to air. Che ...

-based material they discovered at Arkansas held the world's record for high temperature, 125K, for five years (1988–93) and drew international attention to the university. Their work led to patents and a manufacturing agreement, as well as further advances in high-density electronics. University of Arkansas plant pathologists conducted research in the early 1970s that led to COLLEGO, the first biological herbicide for weed control in a field crop. Other UA scientists and students worked on the project that resulted in EPA registration of COLLEGO by Upjohn in 1982 for control of northern jointvetch in rice and soybeans. The work provided a model used worldwide to develop biological herbicides. Leadership in this area helped the U of A obtain grants from the USDA and others for construction of the Rosen Center for Alternative Pest Control. Professor

Peter Ungar Peter S. Ungar (born May 4, 1963) is an American paleoanthropologist and evolutionary biologist. Life Peter S. Ungar is Distinguished Professor and Director of the Environmental Dynamics Program at the University of Arkansas. Before arriving at ...

, a palaeoanthropologist and palaeoecologist in the Department of Environmental Dynamics, has pioneered novel methods of reconstructing the diets of extant and

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

animals. In particular, Ungar has used

dental microwear Dental microwear analysis is a method to infer diet and behavior in extinct animals, especially in fossil specimens. It has been used on a variety of taxa, including hominids, victoriapithecids, amphicyonids, canids, ursids, hyaenids, hyaenodont ...

to determine the diets of extinct hominins such as ''

Australopithecus ''Australopithecus'' (, ; or (, ) is a genus of early hominins that existed in Africa during the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. The genera ''Homo'' (which includes modern humans), ''Paranthropus'', and ''Kenyanthropus'' evolved from some ''Aus ...

'', ''

Paranthropus ''Paranthropus'' is a genus of extinct hominin which contains two widely accepted species: ''Paranthropus robustus, P. robustus'' and ''P. boisei''. However, the validity of ''Paranthropus'' is contested, and it is sometimes considered to be sy ...

'', and ''

Homo naledi '' Homo naledi'' is an Extinction, extinct species of archaic human discovered in 2013 in the Rising Star Cave system, Gauteng province, South Africa, part of the Cradle of Humankind, dating back to the Middle Pleistocene 335,000–236,000 yea ...

'', overturning earlier assumptions about ancient hominin diets based solely on jaw and tooth morphology. In addition to his work on hominins, Ungar has also used dental microwear to study the diets of extinct victoriapithecids,

lemur Lemurs ( ; from Latin ) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea ( ), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are Endemism, ...

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

hyaenids Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliformia, feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the Family (biology), family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the orde ...

canids Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', "dog") is a biological family of caniform carnivorans, constituting a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). The family includes three subfamilies: the Caninae, and the extinct Borophaginae ...

ursids The Ursid (URS) meteor activity begins annually around December 17 and runs for over a week, until the 25th or 26th. This meteor shower is named for its radiant point, which is located near the star Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) in the constellat ...

, tragulids,

cervids A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family (biology), family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, a ...

bovids The Bovidae comprise the family (biology), biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes Bos, cattle, bison, Bubalina, buffalo, antelopes (including Caprinae, goat-antelopes), Ovis, sheep and Capra (genus), goats. A member o ...

, and

suids Suidae is a family of artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs, or swine. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 extant species are currently recognized (or 19 counting domestic pigs and wild boars separately), classified into ...

. In 2024, Ungar was chosen to become a member of the

National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Natio ...

for his contributions to the study of the diets of ancient organisms.

Athletics

The mascot for the University of Arkansas is the Razorback, a type of wild boar, and Arkansas teams are often referred to as the Hogs (shortened version of Razorbacks). The school competes in the

(SEC) in Division I of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

. From 1971 through 2007, Arkansas had separate men's and women's athletic departments. On January 1, 2008, the two departments merged, leaving fellow SEC school

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

as the only remaining NCAA Division I school with separate men's and women's athletic programs.

Football

A football team began representing the University of Arkansas in

1894 Events January * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United States. * Ja ...

and has since become one of the nation's top 25 programs in terms of all-time wins at the Football Bowl Subdivision level. The program was a charter member of the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

(SWC) in 1915 and remained in that conference until departing for the

in 1991, where Arkansas has remained. From 1915 to 1991, the Razorbacks won the SWC championship 13 times and the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in the 1964 season, with great success coming under coaches

Frank Broyles John Franklin Broyles (December 26, 1924 – August 14, 2017) was an American college football player and coach, college athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach for one season at the University of Missouri ...

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former college football coach and television analyst. He served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the N ...

and

Ken Hatfield Kenneth Wahl Hatfield (born June 6, 1943) is an American former college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy (1979–1983), the University of Arkansas (1984–1989), Clemson Unive ...

. Today, the team plays its home games on campus at

Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium is an American football stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas and serves as the home field of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team since its opening in 1938. The stadium was formerly known as Razor ...

, or at

War Memorial Stadium War Memorial Stadium may refer to: * Ada War Memorial Stadium, in Ada, Ohio, also known as ''War Memorial Stadium'' * War Memorial Stadium (Arkansas), Little Rock, Arkansas * War Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas) (former official name 1924–1947), ...

, located in

, making the University of Arkansas the only Division I program with two home stadia. Arkansas has also had recent success in the

Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of America ...

(BCS) era, obtaining its first BCS berth in the 2011 Sugar Bowl and climbing as high as #3 in the BCS rankings in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

under

Bobby Petrino Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American college football coach who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Arkansas. He served as the head football coach at Missouri State from 2020 to 2022. P ...

Basketball

Men's Basketball: The men's basketball team plays their home games in

Bud Walton Arena Bud Walton Arena (also known as the Basketball Palace of Mid-America) is the home to the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball, men's and Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball, women's basketball teams of the University of Arkansas, known as the Arka ...

on the University of Arkansas campus, one of the largest home arenas in college basketball. The team won the 1994

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

under coach

Nolan Richardson Nolan Richardson Jr. (born December 27, 1941) is an American former basketball head coach best known for his tenure at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas, where he won the 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tourn ...

, and has been to six

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

s (1941, 1945, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1995). Arkansas basketball was the winningest program in the Southwest Conference, winning the conference 22 times, the most of any of the SWC schools. This conference dominance led the Hogs to be named the eighth-best program in history by ''

Street and Smith Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc., was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks. Among t ...

's'' magazine. Women's Basketball: The Razorback women's basketball team, like the men's basketball team, plays home games in Bud Walton Arena, often referred to as the "Basketball Palace of Mid-America." The building is located on the University of Arkansas campus. The women's basketball team completed its 39th season in 2014–15, and has made 21 post season appearances. The Razorbacks made their first NCAA Women's Final Four appearance in 1998, with the help of team leader Christy Smith, and made history as the lowest seed (#9) in the west to advance. On March 7, 2020, the team made it to the semifinals in the SEC tournament in Greenville, South Caroline, with coach

Mike Neighbors Michael Earl Neighbors (born March 29, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). He previously served as the head coach at Wash ...

and were ranked #22 for the 2019–20 season, which has been the team's highest ranking since January 2011. This was also the first time the Lady Razorbacks have been ranked in the top 25 since 2015 and started off the season in the top 25 since 2002.

Baseball and Softball

Men's Baseball: The Arkansas baseball team has had success both in the Southwest Conference, and in the Southeastern Conference. Between 1979 and 1989, the Diamond Hogs appeared in the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...

four times, including a runner-up finish in 1979. Since joining the SEC, the team has been to the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2022 College World Series 2022 College World Series may refer to: * 2022 Men's College World Series The 2022 NCAA Men's College World Series was the final stage of the 2022 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. It was scheduled from June 17 through 27 at Charles Schwab ...

. The team plays home games in

Baum Stadium Baum is a German surname meaning "tree" (not to be confused with the French surname Baume). Notable people with this surname include: * Andreas Baum (born 1978), German politician * Bernie Baum (1929–1993), American songwriter * Bruce Ba ...

, recognized in 1998 by

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

magazine as being one of the top collegiate ballparks in America, and was #3 in 2009 according to

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

. The stadium has recently undergone expansion, including 20 new skyboxes (34 in all) and seats behind the bullpen in left field, and further expansion to enclose the park with seating has been included in the Athletic Facilities Master Plan. On April 7, 2009, a stadium record 11,044 fans saw a 7–3 Razorbacks victory over the #1

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

. A weekend series with LSU in 2007 drew 29,931, which is the SEC all-time attendance record for a three-game series. Women's Softball: The Arkansas Razorback softball team plays their home games at

Bogle Park Bogle Park is a softball stadium located in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the home of the Arkansas Razorbacks softball The Arkansas Razorbacks softball team represents the University of Arkansas in NCAA Division I College softball. The team com ...

, located on the University of Arkansas campus. Bogle Park was made possible thanks to the lead gift made by Bob and Marilyn Bogle and the Bogle family, who have also made significant contributions to the university and the Athletics Department over the course of many years. An event celebrating the naming was held Friday, October 26, 2009. The Lady Razorbacks participate in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference, also known as the SEC. The team has made NCAA Tournament appearances in:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, and

Track and Field

Men's Track and Field: The most successful program in NCAA history, the Arkansas men's track and field and cross country teams are the most decorated teams in the athletics department. The program has won a total of 41 national titles (19 Indoor Championships, 11 Outdoor Championships, and 11 Cross Country Championships), the last being the 2013 Indoor Track and Field National Championship (the 2004 and 2005 Outdoor Championships were later vacated due to NCAA infractions). One of its most famous stars is graduate Alistair Cragg who competed for Ireland at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in Greece. Other Olympians have included Michael Conley,

Daniel Lincoln Daniel Lincoln may refer to: * Daniel Lincoln (runner), American runner * Dan Lincoln (cricketer), British cricketer and footballer {{hndis, Lincoln, Daniel ...

, Graham Hood,

Wallace Spearmon Wallace Spearmon Jr. (born December 24, 1984, in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is a retired American sprint athlete who specialized in the 200 meters. He is a two-time NCAA outdoor champion in the 200 m and won the silver medal in the eve ...

, Paul Donovan, and

Matt Hemingway Matthew Eliot Hemingway (born October 24, 1972) is a retired American track and field athlete. He won a silver medal in the high jump at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens by clearing a height of 2.34 meters (7 ft 8 in). Reflecting on th ...

. The team has a home indoor track at the

Randal Tyson Track Center The Randal Tyson Track Center is a 5,500-seat indoor track in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Built in 2000, it is home to the University of Arkansas Razorbacks track and field teams. It was also home for one year to the semi-pro Arkansas Stars. The fa ...

and outdoor field at

John McDonnell Field John McDonnell Field is the outdoor track facility at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and is home to the Arkansas Razorbacks. The field is named after former head coach John McDonnell, who ended his thirty-six-year collegiat ...

, which hosted the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track Championships. The team won the 2009, 2010, and 2012 SEC Indoor Track Championships, along with the 2009 and 2011 SEC Outdoor Championships and the 2010, 2011 and 2012 SEC Cross Country Championships. The men's track and field team won the triple crown in 2012. Women's Track and Field: The women's track and field team won its first national championship at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships, held in Fayetteville. Coached by Lance Harter, team members took first place in pole vault, the 3000-meter run and the distance-medley relay. Top competitors include Olympians

Veronica Campbell-Brown Veronica Campbell Brown (born 15 May 1982) is a retired Jamaican track and field sprinter, who specialized in the 100 and 200 meters. An eight-time Olympic medalist, she is the second of three women in history to win two consecutive Olym ...

and

Deena Kastor Deena Michelle Kastor (née Drossin; born February 14, 1973) is an American long-distance runner. She is the former American record holder in the marathon (2003-2022) and numerous road distances. Kastor held 15 American records simultaneously in ...

, who set the American marathon record at the 2006

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

. Since then, the team has won four NCAA Division I championships, two in indoor track and field, and two in outdoor track and field. The team also swept the 2019 calendar, winning the indoor, outdoor and cross country national championships. The athletes have access to indoor training and racing facilities at the

and outdoor facilities at

located on the University of Arkansas campus.

Women's Athletics

Deena Kastor at the 2007 Boston Marathon

The women teams at the University of Arkansas are also referred to as Razorbacks. There are 11 varsity women sports: basketball, cross country, indoor and outdoor track, golf,

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

, soccer, softball, swimming &

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

, tennis, and volleyball. Among the most successful women teams are volleyball with 11 SEC Western Division titles; cross country with more SEC championships than any member institution; basketball with 12 postseason appearances in 30 years, including the 1998 NCAA Final Four; track & field with six SEC titles and the first back-to-back women's SEC triple crowns; and gymnastics, nationally ranked since the start of the program in 2002 with five NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship appearances. Sprinter

Veronica Campbell Veronica Campbell Brown (born 15 May 1982) is a retired Jamaican track and field sprinter, who specialized in the 100 and 200 meters. An eight-time Olympic medalist, she is the second of three women in history to win two consecutive Olymp ...

was the first Razorback woman to win a gold medal in the Olympics, with marathoner

, an alumna, bringing home a bronze medal in 2004. Gymnastics: In 2019,

Jordyn Wieber Jordyn Marie Wieber Brooks ( Wieber; born July 12, 1995) is an American former artistic gymnast and current gymnastics coach. Since April 2019, she has been the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team. Wieber began competing in ...

was hired as the University of Arkansas head coach, following the retirement of Mark Cook. Wieber has a very impressive background, as she was one of the "

Fierce Five The Fierce Five was the artistic gymnastics team that won the second team gold medal for the United States in the women's team competition at the Gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 Summer Olympics. Originally referred to as the Fab Fiv ...

," in the 2012 Summer Olympics. The gymnastics team, referred to as the GymBacks, practice at the Bev Lewis Center for Women's Athletics and compete in

Barnhill Arena Barnhill Arena is a 10,000-seat multipurpose arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas, now used primarily for volleyball. The arena opened in 1954 and was home to the University of Arkansas Razorbacks (men's) and (women's) basketball teams before they mo ...

. As for the 2020 season, the team now holds seven beam titles and nine floor titles. The GymBacks started the 2020 season ranked #19 by the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association. This is the 14th year in a row the gymnastics team has been ranked in the top 20. Volleyball: The Razorback volleyball team practices and plays in the legendary

, which used to house the men's and women's basketball teams before moving to

in 1993. As of 2013, the volleyball team had made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2015, the Razorbacks were one of just three teams ranked top 10 nationally in both hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage. In more recent years, four Razorback volleyball players were invited to the US Women's Volleyball tryouts in February 2020. Swim and Dive: In 2016, the swim and dive team placed 11th at the SEC Conference Championship and, the following year, the team placed 10th. The 2020–21 season was kicked off on November 7, with the team facing the Missouri Tigers. There were fourteen events held that day and the Razorbacks won seven of them. The impressive

Brooke Schultz Brooke Schultz (born January 20, 1999) is an American diver. She competed in the women's 3 metre springboard event at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships The 2019 World Aquatics Championships were the 18th FINA World Aquatics Championsh ...

, earned NCAA Zone qualifying scores on the 3-meter and 1-meter springboard events.

Student life

There are over 350 registered student organizations on campus including special interest, religious, international and cultural organizations, honorary and professional service groups, and more. The most recognized student organization on campus is the Associated Student Government, sometimes simply called "ASG." The student government is active in managing student fees, meeting with key university administrators and is actively involved in many important decisions made on the University of Arkansas Campus. Perhaps the most significant program on campus, ASG, along with University Parking &

Razorback Transit The University of Arkansas Razorback Transit System operates 19 routes (11 standard fixed routes, 6 reduced routes, 2 Razorback football gameday routes) on the campus and vicinity of the University. Razorback Transit provides both fixed route bus a ...

, and with the support of the DRJ-III Memorial Foundation, manage the Safe Ride program which gives students a safe ride home from any unsafe or uncomfortable situation. Arkansas is home of ''The Razorback'', a national award-winning student yearbook, UATV, a student-run television station, and

The Arkansas Traveler Arkansas Traveler or Arkansas Traveller may refer to: *Arkansas Traveler (folklore), a figure of 19th-century American folklore said to have originated with Sandford C. Faulkner Music *Arkansas Traveler (album), ''Arkansas Traveler'' (album), ...

, a national-award-winning student newspaper established in 1906. The university is also home to two radio stations:

KUAF KUAF (91.3 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Fayetteville, Arkansas, serving Northwest Arkansas. The station is owned by the University of Arkansas, with studios and offices near the school's campus in Downtown Fayettevill ...

, a

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

station and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

affiliate, and

KXUA KXUA (88.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a student-run college radio station broadcasting an eclectic radio format. Licensed to Fayetteville, Arkansas, it serves the university campus and surrounding community. The university also owns the more power ...

, an eclectic student-run station. The University of Arkansas Press is known for publishing works on local and Southern history, as well as its strong poetry series, including books of poetry by former President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

and the former national poet laureate

Billy Collins William James Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet who served as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He was a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York, retiring in 2016. Co ...

Greek life

There are dozens of fraternities and sororities on campus. 31% of University of Arkansas students participate in Greek Life.

Traditions

Senior walk

The names of University of Arkansas students, starting with the first senior class of 1876, are carved into one of the concrete walkways or sidewalks on campus. This tradition was started by the 1905 graduating class of students, who drew their names into the walkway in front of

. Through most of the 20th century, the names were impressed in wet cement using brass letters. In 1986, the university's physical plant developed a special machine to engrave the thousands of names required each year. In 2020, to preserve the walk, the university replaced it with high-grade monumental concrete, reinforced with steel bar, and the names were sandblasted in their original handwriting.

Spoofer's Stone

Sitting at the edge of Old Main lawn is Spoofer's Stone, a large chunk of limestone left behind by a broken oxcart after the completion of the construction of Old Main in 1875. The large stone quickly became a resting spot for students. At this time, male and female students were not allowed to interact on campus. Female students began leaving letters in the rock for their male friends (or romantic interests). In 1933, the female students at the university noticed the damage done to the stone from regular wear and tear and decided to have the stone mounted in a concrete base. A plaque was added to the stone commemorating the 1932-33 class who raised the money for the repair. In the years after, Spoofer's Stone became a popular engagement spot for couples who met while attending the University of Arkansas. It became tradition for couples who were engaged there to chip off a small piece of the stone as a memento.

"Calling the Hogs"

Fans of the University of Arkansas have been "Calling the Hogs" since the 1920s. This tradition, which refers to the school's most popular cheer at sporting events, is said to have begun when a group of farmers attending a game began issuing hog calls to encourage a lagging Razorback football team. The encouragement worked and the attending crowd took notice of the farmers' calling. By the next game, a group of men had organized to cry "Wooo, Pig, Sooie". The call has since become the school's best-known cheer.

Alma mater

The University of Arkansas ''Alma Mater'' was written in 1909 by Brodie Payne, an alumnus of the University of Arkansas. Henry D. Tovey, director of the Glee Club at the time, set the song to music.

Fight song

Originally known as the "Field Song", the words and tune of the University of Arkansas Fight Song were written in 1913 by William Edwin Douglas while he was an undergraduate. Music was added by Henry D. Tovey, Douglas's music professor, and the song eventually became adopted as the "Arkansas Fight Song".

School colors and mascot

The school color of cardinal red (

Pantone Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is an American limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey, and best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color order system used in a variety of industries, notably gr ...

#201) was chosen as the official school color by a vote of the student body in 1895. The two color choices were cardinal and heliotrope. White was added as a complementary color at a later date. The University of Arkansas mascot has not always been the Razorbacks. From 1894, when the football program began, until 1910, the official mascot was the Cardinals to complement the school color of cardinal red. In 1909, according to school lore, the head football coach

Hugo Bezdek Hugo Francis Bezdek (April 1, 1884 – September 19, 1952) was a Czech American athlete who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon (1906, 1913–1 ...

gave a speech to a large group of students at the Fayetteville train station after returning from a victory over

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in 1909 during an undefeated season. Coach Bezdek informed the crowd that his team had performed "like a wild band of Razorback hogs." Although students had begun referring to the team as the Razorbacks as early as 1907, Bezdek's statement popularized the use of Razorback for the team. The Razorback, which is characterized by a ridged back and tenacious wild fighting ability, had long been associated with the backwoods of Arkansas. The students loved the comparison, and the nickname became increasingly popular. In 1910, the student body voted to change the official university mascot from the Cardinal to the Razorback. Live hogs were occasionally brought to football games as early as the 1920s, but providing a permanent live mascot dates back to the 1960s and a number of hogs have represented Arkansas since then.

Tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine tooth, canine teeth, as with Narwhal, narwhals, chevrotains, musk deer, water deer, muntjac, pigs, ...

, a 380-pound Russian boar that closely resembles a wild razorback hog, is the current official live mascot. He resides on a local farm and leaves his home to attend all Arkansas home football games, and other select events. Additionally, the University of Arkansas has a family of uniformed mascots. " Big Red", (also known as the "Fighting Razorback"), is the traditional mascot for the university and attends all athletic events. "Sue E" is the female hog and "Pork Chop" is the kid mascot. "Boss Hog" is a nine-foot inflatable mascot that joined the mascot family during the 1998–99 football season.

Razorback Marching Band

The Razorback Marching Band, one of the oldest collegiate bands in the United States, was formed in 1874 as the Cadet Corps Band as part of the military art department. The band participated in all the formalities of the Military Art Department, as well as playing for football games, pageants, and commencement exercises. In 1947, following a steady post World War II growth, the Cadet Corp Band was divided into the three current bands, a football band, a concert band, and an R.O.T.C. band. In 1956, the band adopted the name "Marching Razorbacks." In 2006, the Razorback Marching Band was awarded the highest honor bestowed upon a collegiate marching band, the

Sudler Trophy The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the promotion of band music internationally. The foundation administers a number of projects and awards supporting high quality band performance, conducting, and composit ...

. The band has also performed at the 2011 Allstate Sugar Bowl, the 2012 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, many other bowl games and even at Dallas Cowboys football games. As of 2020, the 350-member Razorback Marching Band, along with the Hogwild Pep Band and four concert bands, make up over two percent of the university's undergraduate population.

Schola Cantorum

The University of Arkansas Schola Cantorum was created in 1957 by founding director Richard Brothers. Since then, Schola Cantorum has proudly represented the University of Arkansas across the country and on various international concert tours. In 1962, Schola Cantorum was the first choir to win The

Guido d'Arezzo Guido of Arezzo (; – after 1033) was an Italian music theorist and pedagogue of High medieval music. A Benedictine monk, he is regarded as the inventor—or by some, developer—of the modern staff notation that had a massive influence on ...

Award—at the prestigious International Polyphonic Competition in Arezzo, Italy. In honor of its achievement, Schola Cantorum soon after appeared on NBC TV's "

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

" and performed for U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

in the White House Rose Garden. At every graduation ceremony, Schola Cantorum sings the National Anthem, the alma mater, and an invocation. The choir participates at national and global events, as well as a number of events on campus.

Notable people

File:Doug McMillon Headshot 2019.jpg,

Doug McMillon Carl Douglas McMillon (born October 17, 1966) is an American businessman who has been the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Walmart since 2014. He also sits on the retailer's board of directors. McMillon first joined the company as ...

, President and CEO of Walmart Inc. File:S. Robson Walton by Gage Skidmore.jpg, S. Robson Walton, Former Chairman of Walmart Inc. File:Jim Walton attends shareholders meeting.jpg,

Jim Walton James Carr Walton (born June 7, 1948) is an American businessman, currently an heir to the fortune of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. As of May 2025, Walton is the 12th-richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$114.1 billion acc ...

, chairman and CEO of Arvest Bank Group, Inc. File:Fulbright.jpg,

J. William Fulbright James William Fulbright (April 9, 1905 – February 9, 1995) was an American politician, academic, and statesman who represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1945 until his resignation in 1974. , Fulbright is the longest-serving chair ...

, US Senator of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and namesake of

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

File:Accelerating_Infrastructure_Development_Ricardo_Martinelli_(8410953465).jpg,

Ricardo Martinelli Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal (born 11 March 1951) is a Panamanian politician and businessman who served as the 36th President of Panama from 2009 to 2014. In 2024, Martinelli was sentenced to ten years in prison for embezzlement of pu ...

, 36th President of Panama File:James O McKinsey.jpg,

James O. McKinsey James Oscar McKinsey (June 4, 1889 – November 30, 1937) was an American accountant, management consultant, professor of accounting at the University of Chicago, and founder of McKinsey & Company. Biography McKinsey was born in 1889 in Gamma, ...

, founder of

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...

File:VernClark.jpg,

Vern Clark Vernon Eugene Clark (born September 7, 1944) is a retired admiral who served as the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) of the United States Navy. He retired on July 22, 2005, making his tenure of five years the second-longest serving CNO behind Arle ...

, 27th

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

File:Dake TR.jpg, Terrence R. Dake, 27th

Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps The assistant commandant of the Marine Corps (ACMC) is the second highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps, and serves as a deputy for the commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC). Before 1946, the title was known as the assistant to ...

File:RichardCHarding.JPG, Richard C. Harding, 15th Judge Advocate General of the United States Air Force File:HughOverholt2.jpg, Hugh R. Overholt, 32nd

Judge Advocate General of the United States Army The Judge Advocate General of the United States Army (TJAG) is the senior officer of the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army. Under Title 10 of the United States Code, the TJ ...

File:MackMclarty.jpg,

Mack McLarty Thomas Franklin "Mack" McLarty, III (born June 14, 1946) is an American business and political leader who served as President Bill Clinton's first White House Chief of Staff from 1993 to June 1994, and subsequently as counselor to the president ...

, 17th

White House Chief of Staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...

File:slater rodney.jpg, Rodney E. Slater, 13th

United States Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

File:Jerry Jones (24176024648) (cropped).jpg,

Jerry Jones Jerral Wayne Jones Sr. (born October 13, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman who is the owner, president, and General manager (American football), general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He bought t ...

, owner president of

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

File:John Stallings.jpg, John R. Stallings, mathematician File:Arnold,morris-portrait.gif, Morris S. Arnold, Judge of the

United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISCR) is a U.S. federal court whose sole purpose is to review denials of applications for electronic surveillance warrants (called FISA warrants) by the United States Foreign ...

File:Cliff Lee at ESPN Weekend.jpg,

Cliff Lee Clifton Phifer Lee (born August 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2002 and 2014 he played for the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, S ...

, 4 time

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

star File:2010 Women's British Open – Stacy Lewis (9).jpg,

Stacy Lewis Stacy Lewis (born February 16, 1985) is an American professional golfer on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She has won two major championships: the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2011 and the Women's British Open in 2013. She was ranked number one in ...

LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

2-time major champion Though neither attended the university, both President

and presidential nominee

taught at the university's law school in the early 1970s. The house where they lived in Fayetteville is now a historic site and museum. The University of Arkansas Alumni Association operates chapters in 30 states throughout the United States. Throughout the university's history, faculty, alumni, and former students have played prominent roles in many different fields. Among its Distinguished Alumni is

, former president of the

Republic of Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

from 2009 to 2014. Seventeen Arkansas graduates have held the position of governor, including the former

Governor of Arkansas The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics and government of Arkansas, Arkansas government a ...

Asa Hutchinson William Asa Hutchinson II (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, AY-sə''; born December 3, 1950) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 46th governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Part ...

. Twenty-six University of Arkansas graduates have also represented the state of Arkansas in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, including at least one in every Congress from the start of the

57th Congress The 57th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1901, to ...

in 1901 to 2009. Six Arkansas graduates have also held at least one

US Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

seat from Arkansas since 1945. From 1979 to 2003, both seats were held by Arkansas graduates: the late

and current

US Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

John Boozman John Nichols Boozman ( ; born December 10, 1950) is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. repre ...

. Arkansas alumni have also become prominent in the music world. Singer songwriter

Ben Rector Benjamin Evans Rector (born November 6, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is an independent artist, and releases music under his own label OK Kid Recordings. Rector's career has with ...

graduated from The University of Arkansas in 2009. A notable single of his includes "Brand New", which was featured in the trailer for the

Nicholas Sparks Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and film producer. He has published twenty-three novels, all ''New York Times'' bestsellers, and two works of nonfiction, with over 115 million copies sold ...

film ''The Choice''. File:Bill Clinton.jpg,

, 42nd President of the United States File:Hillary Clinton by Gage Skidmore 4 (cropped).jpg,

, 67th U.S. Secretary of State File:Friedrich Hayek portrait.jpg,

Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek (8 May 1899 – 23 March 1992) was an Austrian-born British academic and philosopher. He is known for his contributions to political economy, political philosophy and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobe ...

, Arkansas alumni have made contributions to the business world and academia. These alumni include

owner

. Other Arkansas business alumni include executives of major corporations like S. Robson Walton of

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

Scott T. Ford Scott T. Ford was president and chief executive officer of Alltel from 2002 to 2009. Life A graduate of the University of Arkansas, Ford worked for Merrill Lynch and Stephens Inc. In 1996 he joined Alltel as executive vice president with respons ...

Alltel Alltel was a landline, wireless service provider, wireless and general Telephone company, telecommunications services provider, primarily based in the United States. Before its wireless division was acquired by Verizon Wireless and AT&T, Alltel pr ...

, and Ed Wilson of

Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an Television in the United States, American commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television broadcaster, television network serving as the flagship proper ...

Tribune Broadcasting Tribune Broadcasting Company, LLC was an American media company which operated as a subsidiary of Tribune Media, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. The group owned and operated television station, television and radio stations thro ...

. Other Arkansas alumni have also held chancellor and president positions at numerous universities, including

John Tyler Caldwell John Tyler Caldwell (December 19, 1911 – October 13, 1995) was an American educator who presided over three universities, including North Carolina State University. Early life John Tyler Caldwell was born on December 19, 1911, in Yazoo City, Mi ...

, who served as the chancellor of

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

, and

Ray Thornton Raymond Hoyt Thornton Jr. (July 16, 1928 – April 13, 2016)Arkansas CourtsA Self-Guided Tour of Justice Building Portraits(2016), p. 11. was an American attorney and politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Representative for Arkansas's 4th c ...

, who served as president of

Arkansas State University Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the st ...

. Arkansas alumni have also made contributions to professional sports. Arkansas Razorbacks have moved on to play in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, WNBA, and

. Notable alumni in the world of sports include

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

winning pitcher

and seven-time NBA All Star Joe Johnson. Others former Razorbacks include 10 Olympians who have won 14

Olympic medals An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid ou ...

including Mike Conley, Sr. who won Olympics medals at the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Olympics. Eight Pro Football Hall of Famers including

Dan Hampton Daniel Oliver Hampton (born September 19, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for twelve seasons with the Chicago Bears from 1979 to 1990 in the National Football League (NFL). He was elected to ...

attended the University of Arkansas.Pro football hall of fame
NFL. profootballhof.com. Retrieved July 4, 2010.

Gallery

File:Hog bronze.png, File:Arkansas Union.jpg, File:Chi Omega Greek Theater.jpg, File:David W. Mullins Library.JPG, File:Fulbright Peace Fountain.JPG, File:Ozark Hall, University of Arkansas.JPG, Gearhart Hall (formerly Ozark Hall) File:Spoofer's Stone.JPG, File:UAlawschoolnewwing.jpg, File:ClintonSchoolOfPublicServiceBuilding.jpg, File:Tri Delta Clock.JPG, File:OldUAfieldhouse.jpg, File:Old Main Arkansas view.jpg, File:CarnallHallUA.jpg, File:Old main fayetteville.jpg,

Notes

References

External links

*
University of Arkansas athletics website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arkansas, University Of Flagship universities in the United States Land-grant universities and colleges

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

1871 establishments in Arkansas Universities and colleges established in 1871

A Universities and colleges accredited by the Higher Learning Commission

History

Early developments

Notable landmarks

African American history and African studies program

Notable people in African and African American history at the university

Campus

Sustainability

System facilities

Academics

Research

Athletics

Football

Basketball

Baseball and Softball

Track and Field

Women's Athletics

Student life

Greek life

Traditions

Senior walk

Spoofer's Stone

"Calling the Hogs"

Alma mater

Fight song

School colors and mascot

Razorback Marching Band

Schola Cantorum

Notable people

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links