University of Arkansas Fayetteville Garners More Recognition

Northwest Arkansas would not be what it is today were it not for the presence of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The cultural and economic impact is so large as to be difficult to quantify, but definitely contributes to our high quality of life.

A few recent, very disparate happenings--which some might find surprising--have attracted national attention to the university and our corner of the world.

First, James Patterson, internationally acclaimed New York Times best-selling author of mysteries and children’s books, has created eight additional teacher-education scholarships at the University of Arkansas for academic year 2014-15. Mr. Patterson gifted the first eight James PattersonTeacher Education Scholarships to U of A in 2013-14. Arkansas is one of 20 universities nationwide that is the recipient of these scholarship funds.

Recipients will receive $6,000 each. In order to be eligible, a student must be enrolled full time in an education program in the College of Education and Health Professions and have expressed an interest in pursuing a career as an elementary school teacher with a focus on reading and literacy.

The deadline to apply is July 21. More information is available by emailing llfoste@uark.edu.

Next, Jingyi Chen, assistant professor of physical chemistry at U of A, has been included in a list of the world’s most highly cited researchers in 2014. The list, Highly Cited Researchers, is compiled annually by Thompson-Reuters.

To make the list, scientists must rank among the top 1 percent most cited for their subject field and year of publication, earning them the mark of exceptional impact.

Dr. Chen works in the field of nanomaterials. (A nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter - approximately 100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.)

And lastly, Bob Harrington, professor and 21^st Century Endowed Chair in Hospitality in the Bumpers College at U of A and an expert on food and wine pairing, has been filmed for a documentary due out later this year. The documentary focuses on the evolution of current thoughts on wine and food matching.

Harrington was selected based on his systematic food and wine pairing approach, which he presented in his 2008 book, Food and Wine Pairing: A Sensory Experience.  His approach is based on empirical relationships that seem to drive a feeling of match and is based on 12 main interacting relationships of wine and food elements.

These three examples from extremely different fields have received recognition in different ways. Perhaps you are as surprised as I was to find these people in little old Arkansas. It used to be that for almost everything, the attitude was “thank God for Mississippi”, as Arkansas ranked at or near the bottom in most lists and studies. That appears to be changing….

University of Arkansas Helps Veterans Succeed

I was happy to see University of Arkansas receive nationwide recognition for assisting veterans in the difficult task of transitioning from the battlefield to campus. Adjusting from war to a classroom is incomprehensible for anyone who has not been through such experiences. It is even difficult for many men and women to leave the military itself and change over to civilian and college life.  

BestColleges.com ranked University of Arkansas in the top 40 universities in the country for efforts to meet the needs of returning veterans. BestColleges.com first reviewed the top 200 universities as defined by U.S. News & World Report. In order to be considered in the ranking, each university had to be a member of The Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges, honor ACE Credit, and participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which provides veterans attending college with funds additional to those received by the GI Bill.

U of A programs take an individualized approach to counseling, academic and financial assistance and job placement. The Veterans Resource and Information Center has many veterans on staff that understand the unique needs of veterans and are willing and able to assist veterans.

Some studies have shown the graduation success rate for veterans to be abysmally low. Our veterans deserve better so it is especially gratifying to see University of Arkansas ranked in the top 40 of American universities.

University of Arkansas--Growing and Getting Better All the Time

Fayetteville is on many ‘best places’ lists and part of what contributes to the quality of life here is the presence of the University of Arkansas. Academic accolades, awards, grant money and high rankings in many areas have been pouring in. Turns out Razorback sports are not the only reason the U of A shines. (But let’s face it, Razorback sports are a major force here.)

In terms of enrollment, U of A is the 13^th fastest growing public research university in the country. Fall 2013 semester preliminary student count is more than 25,300 students. An earlier goal was to reach 25,000 students by 2021, in time to celebrate its sesquicentennial.

The number of minority students is also increasing. A recent count showed about 4,500 minority students enrolled, an 80% increase since 2008.

Approximately $450 million has been spent since 2011 to renovate, expand and build facilities to keep up with growth. It’s nice to see the impressive results as the scaffolding, fences, and temporary detours come down. No matter where one looks, it seems there’s no end to ‘new’ category: classrooms, enlarged dining facilities, dorms and off-campus housing to name a few.

The best part of all is that quality has not been comprised to accommodate growth. Indeed, the university’s reputation is also growing.

Millions of dollars in grants have been awarded to U of A by Dept. of Defense, National Science Foundation, Dept. of Energy and others.

New tenure track and non-tenure track positions have been added.

As U of A continues to grow, so does NW Arkansas. Adding more jobs, homes, businesses, and schools all contribute to the vibrancy of our communities.

Way to go Hogs!

For more information on some of these achievements:

U of A-In Top 15 Public Research Universities

More Students-More Classrooms-Less Construction

Bumpers College in Top 100

Walton College of Business Among Top 30 Business Schools

A good idea as the University grows...

Student enrollment at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville is at a record high. It currently stands at more than 23,000 students, which is some 34% higher than it was only eight years ago.


Needless to say, the corresponding need for housing is also at an all-time high. UofA has been building new housing and has plans to build more. But many students wish to live off campus. That’s where the strains begin to show up – more traffic, more complaints from neighborhood residents about students, and complaints from students about landlords.

Fortunately for Fayetteville, the mayor has proposed and UofA’s chancellor has accepted a plan to form a joint committee to address these issues. Committee members would come from the city, the university, and the community.

They will have a lot on their plates as they consider such things as university growth, regulations on the number of students allowed to live together in certain types of housing, and overlay districts governing where and what can be built in the future.

The committee is a sound idea. Everyone wants good neighbors and attractive, quiet, safe neighborhoods. The city and university have worked well together in the past to formulate positive plans. There are good reasons to believe they can do it again.

The Bobby Petrino Situation--what next for the Razorbacks?

One does not need to be born in Arkansas to know Razorback football is big news most of the time. It is also big business. Thus I am as saddened as anyone to learn of Head Coach Bobby Petrino’s motorcycle accident and the events preceding and succeeding it. Radio, TV, newspapers and just about everyone has been talking about it.

I am not going to judge Coach Petrino’s actions – there is plenty of that going around without me weighing in.

I am, however, very concerned about the players, remaining coaches, backers, fans, and the University of Arkansas as a whole. I understand the search has already started for the next head coach.

In the meanwhile, the public seems to be lining up to take sides over Petrino’s firing. There is no doubt Bobby Petrino is an effective coach. He proved it several times, culminating in taking U of A to the Cotton Bowl earlier this year. Hopes were running high for even more successes in the near future. So it is easy to understand why many fans hoped a way could be found to retain Coach Petrino.

Another group of fans and the public felt honesty, integrity, living up to one’s contracts, and upholding the prestige of the university were of the utmost priority. Ultimately, the university leaders took this position and Bobby Petrino was fired. Fallout today has the young lady resigning her position at the U of A, the Arkansas Children’s Hospital canceling their Bobby Petrino Charity Golf Classic (originally scheduled for June), and the University getting two separate donations totaling $1.25 million for “doing the right thing”.

A sad situation.

University of Arkansas-Fayetteville Receives More First-Class Recognition

The U of A has just been recognized as being among the top public law schools in the country according to the U.S. News and World Report 2012 edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools. In ranking the School of Law, U. S. News methodology included a peer assessment score as well as assessments by lawyers and judges. Other factors included student/faculty ratio, post-graduation employment rates, and bar exam passage rates.

And the recognition was not limited to the law school. The full-time Master of Business Administration program in the Walton College at U of A was also ranked high, as was the part-time MBA program. Both full-time and part-time programs are listed in the top tier of their categories nationally: full-time program ranked 51st and the part-time program ranked 50th among both private and public institutions.

U.S. News went on to rank U of A’s rehabilitation counseling program in the College of Education and Health Professions as among the top 22 nationally. Specifically, it ranked as #14 among public universities and #16 when private universities are included in the tally.

The industrial engineering graduate program of College of Engineering was also ranked high - 25th among all graduate programs in the country. When compared only with other public universities, its ranking moves up to #18.

All this means that, again, U of A is recognized as top-notch. It’s heartening to see the high quality faculty and students recognized for their hard work and that work translates to meeting the economic, social and education needs of Arkansas at the highest level.

For more information: U of A Newswire

University of Arkansas Earns Highest Ranking from Carnegie Foundation

Good News! U of A has just announced that the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has upgraded the university’s status to the highest possible rating for research. Prior to the latest announcement, U of A was ranked in the next-highest classification.

For many years, Carnegie Foundation’s rankings have been broadly recognized as the standard categorization of accredited U.S. universities and colleges. Thus, this ranking further enhances U of A’s status and reputation throughout our state, our country and beyond.

The Carnegie Foundation based the classification on data from 2008-2010 in such areas as research expenditures and results, staffing, and doctoral conferrals. After examining 4,633 institutes of higher learning, Carnegie placed U of A in the top group which includes only 108 universities. Within the 108, the Foundation does not rank any one school as better than any other.

A ranking such as this helps in numerous ways – directly and indirectly. It will provide an important boost to recruitment of more top-notch researchers and superior students. As the quantity and quality of U of A’s research projects become increasingly recognized, more research grants will be received. And that means big benefits to NW Arkansas’ economy. Higher salaries equates to greater spending power in all categories from housing to restaurants, to shopping malls and groceries, houses of worship, ad infinitum.

It’s just a circle of good no matter how one looks at it.

I’ve known for some time that U of A programs and courses of study are top notch. I have a master’s in political science from U of A and I’m now taking classes in the Journalism department. The locals have known all along about U of A’s status. It’s a pleasure for me to help spread the good news. At last—it’s not a matter of “thank goodness for Mississippi” any more.

For more information, check the U of A announcement.

The U of A Rocks--updates at the University of Arkansas

I have written in the past about how the University of Arkansas contributes to the economy of Fayetteville, how Fayetteville has been rated as one of the best college towns in the country, and how Fayetteville has been at the top of many “best places” lists, often because of the university.

I ran across some additional facts about the University recently that I wanted to share.

First is a video about renovation plans for the university. I’m glad to see this happening because to offer a top quality education, students need good facilities—labs, classrooms, technology, etc.

Awhile back the U of A had made an offer to purchase Fayetteville HS. The idea was that Fayetteville schools would then use the money to help build a new, state-of-the-art high school. When the University withdrew their offer, I always wondered why, and this video explains it.

I’m sorry that Fayetteville HS will have to be remodeled and stay in the same place, but on the other hand, some facilities at the University need remodeling too. And that’s where the money that was originally going to be used to purchase Fayetteville HS is going.

Another indication of its commitment to excellence can be found in the music department which has set plans in motion to become an “all-Steinway” school, one of only 113 colleges and universities worldwide to attain this status. It's going to cost about $1.3 million, with funds being sought from private donors. So if you have some spare change ...

Second, the University of Arkansas permits people who are at least 60 years old to attend classes for free on a space available basis as part of the Senior Razorback program. They may be degree-seeking or non-degree-seeking. According to one of the employees of the admissions office, the oldest person she knew of who got her Bachelor’s degree through this program was 83 years old! I guess we’re never too old to learn.

And there are some fun things that can be done. An acquaintance of mine took Italian classes with his wife and then went to Italy on vacation to “practice.”

Finally, for those who are interested, the fall Razorback football schedule is out:

Razorback enthusiasm is palpable during the school year, and the team enjoys support from the entire community. Because there are no professional teams in Arkansas (except the NW Arkansas Naturals baseball team), Arkansas sports fans have tailgate parties and other events to promote and support the team.

The Razorbacks website also has all kinds of information about the teams, traditions, facilities, tickets, shopping for Razorback gear—you name it.

And if you really want to find out about the right way to do that hog call, listen in. Woo Pig Soooie!

PS. For those who might be interested actually getting a college education, the University's main website has information about the usual stuff: admissions, financial aid, courses, etc.

University of Arkansas Has Huge Impact on NW Arkansas

The University of Arkansas’ flagship campus is located in Fayetteville, right where it’s been since it was founded in 1871. The university offers more than 200 graduate and post-graduate programs and its research, development, and outreach aids local public and private sectors.

None of that is news to most folks but I wonder how many of us ever stop to think about the overall economic impact the university has in NW Arkansas…

$725.4 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009 was the amount concluded by an exhaustive study recently produced for the Office of the Chancellor. The study looked at direct expenditures by the university as well as spending and taxes paid by faculty, staff, students and visitors.

A few examples include payroll of $246 million, direct expenditures to NW Arkansas businesses by the university of $56.9 million, student expenditures of $173.7 plus visitors added an additional $127.5 million to the local economy.

Not only are those numbers huge, they must be extrapolated many times over to take trickle-down factors into consideration. Most of that payroll is spent locally. Homes and vehicles are purchased, state and local taxes paid, children of faculty and staff are enrolled in schools, contributions made to local churches and charities, restaurants, medical professionals, gas stations, clothing stores – the list is endless.

If University of Arkansas were not here, this area would have an entirely different landscape.

Go Hogs!

Read the entire 106-page report:

http://www.uark.edu/rd_vcad/economicImpact/rd_vcad/documents/The_Economic_Impact_of_the_University_of_Arkansas_Final_Version_for_Print.pdf

It’s Back to Square 1 for Fayetteville High School

University of Arkansas has withdrawn its offer to purchase the Fayetteville High School. High school officials were taken off guard and were extremely surprised by the move.

The final version of $50 million offer would probably have contained some provisions for the school district to lease back the property while waiting for a new high school to be built. Now, all that is off the table and the district is back to square one.

It’s been a long, convoluted process to get back to the starting point. Space and time do not permit much detail here, but a brief summary will help:

· After lengthy deliberations, extensive research, committee meetings, and input from the public, Fayetteville School Board decided to have one high school grades 9-12.

· A new high school should be built as opposed to remodeling the existing school.

The best location would be the “Morningside” property in south Fayetteville.

The current 40-acre high school campus would be offered to University of Arkansas for $59 million, a sum that fell between independent appraisals conducted by both entities. Deadline for response to the offer was July 1, 2008.

U of A countered on June 6 with its offer of $50 million. The offer did not contain a deadline.

A group of independent investors stepped forward to request a 60-day option on the property. If granted, the option would preclude any other sale during that time. If the investors decided to buy the property, they would pay $60 million.

The school district took no action on the option offer. Subsequently, the investors withdrew their request.

On August 21, citing a decision to not leave the offer in limbo any longer, U of A officials withdrew their $50 million offer to purchase the existing campus.

It’s possible the U of A may reconsider purchasing the property at some point in the future.

Stay tuned for the next move.

For more information:

http://arkansasbusiness.com:80/article.aspx?lID=84&sID=85&ms=86&cID=Z&aID=107448.53153.119574

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/08/22/news/082208fzuawithdraws.txt

http://www.nwarktimes.com/adg/News/234962/

http://www.nwarktimes.com/nwat/News/68346/

Fayetteville High School Update

The Fayetteville School Board, at its meeting May 29, 2008, voted 6 to 1 to offer to sell its 40-acre high school campus to University of Arkansas for $59 million. The offer is for land and buildings, including the high school, administrative offices, and sports facilities. At a meeting last Friday, U of A officials responded with a counter offer of $50 million. Terms and conditions would still need to be worked out.

Of course, the amount is subject to much discussion. Whether it appears too high or too low depends on which side of the fence people interviewed are on. From the U of A side, some feel that even $50 million is too high, given that substantial remodeling and refitting of the building will be required. From the School Board’s point of view and that of Buildsmart (an organization which favors keeping Fayetteville HS in its current location), the offer seems low.

Another issue from the U of A point of view is where the money to pay for it will come from. Some oppose adding to student fees to finance the purchase.

A sale of this magnitude is the largest either the U of A or Fayetteville School Board has ever undertaken. An appraisal commissioned by the district has placed the value of the property at $61.28 million, while another commissioned by the university put the price at $56.4 million.

If and when the sale is accepted, Fayetteville School Board will have many more crucial items to face before a new high school is built. First is location and second is funding. (I should have said first is funding because without that, location won’t matter.)

A new high school (and land) will cost somewhere around $110 million and inflation drives up the price every day. Even with $50 million in hand, a millage increase (between 3 and 5 mills) will have to be approved by the voters and that’s tough to do in Fayetteville.

In April the Fayetteville High School Select Committee 2 recommended that a new high school be built on a 73-acre site they refer to as Morningside (701 E. Huntsville Road). The school board has authorized the superintendent to explore that purchase for $5 million.

The board will also have to decide whether to sell 100 acres it owns in the northwest section of the district since it has now been eliminated as the site of the new high school.

The whole responsibility of whether, where, when, and how to build a new high school is complex at best. There are so many what ifs ---

Will the U of A and the Fayetteville School Board be able to negotiate a price agreeable to both sides?

What if U of A buys and voters deny a millage increase?

How large a millage increase will be needed?

Stay tuned for further details.

For more information:

http://nwahomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=13296
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/05/30/news/053008fzfayschoolbrd.txt
http://www.nwarktimes.com/adg/News/227184/
http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/65523/
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/227921

World Trade Center – Another Huge Economic Boost for NW Arkansas

The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas has been accepted as a member of the World Trade Centers Association, a non-profit organization of 284 members in 78 countries. The association was founded in 1970 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and is dedicated to “peace and stability through trade.”

Offices will be located in Rogers in a brand new building currently known as Pinnacle Business Center. The building will soon be renamed Arkansas World Trade Center Building.

This achievement resulted from cooperation between the University of Arkansas, the offices of senators Blanche Lincoln and David Pryor, U. S. Rep. John Boozman's office, the Arkansas Department of Economic Development, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the city of Rogers, and the Pinnacle Group.

The Department of Economic Development provided a $200,000 grant to pay the initiation fee into the World Trade Centers Association.

The Walton Family Charitable Support Trust has made a five-year financial grant to the center’s operating budget.

It appears to be a win-win situation for everyone, including the university, Arkansas manufacturers, Arkansas as a whole, and NW Arkansas in particular.

University students will work with Arkansas companies at the World Trade Center on international trade consulting and the university will have ample opportunity to focus on international business and fair trade.

Manufacturers, particularly small to mid-size companies that usually do not have the resources to expand into world markets, will have access to market research, trade missions, support services, governmental agencies, and more.

Northwest Arkansas will gain the recognition and economic boost brought on by expansion into world trade markets.

Everyone involved is to be commended for their efforts and alacrity in bringing this home to NW Arkansas. It’s hard to believe that something that was just an idea a few months ago will become operational January 15, 2007.

For more information:

http://www.nwanews.com/brog/News/39328/

http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg§ion=National&storyid=167100

http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg§ion=Business&storyid=166752

Expanded Region Slips to 8th Place in Milken Rating

Northwest Arkansas’ slip from No. 7 to No. 8 in the Milken Institute’s rating of the nation’s most vibrant economies for 2005 is a cause for celebration rather than concern, state economists say.
In the rankings released February 22, the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes Bentonville, ranked in the top 10 of the largest 200 cities for the third year in a row. The area made the No. 1 spot in 2003, then dropped to No. 7 in 2004. In 2002, the MSA ranked 23 rd in the top cities list.

The nonprofit Santa Monica, Calif.-based think tank ranks the nation’s metropolitan statistical areas for the best overall economies each year. Researchers base the rankings on several criteria, including job and wage and salary growth over the past five years. The institute helps business and public policy leaders identify and implement innovative ideas for creating broad-based prosperity, according to its Web site.

Lorna Wallace, a Milken Institute research fellow and senior staff member, attributed the drop to No. 8 to the U. S. Census Bureau’s addition of Madison County and McDonald County, Mo., to the MSA. The two counties were not considered in the Milken study last year. The Milken Institute relies on the Census Bureau’s definition of metropolitan statistical areas for its study groupings.

“The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA has a robust economy that outshines the rest of the state and most of the country,” Wallace said. “Its job growth rate by far exceeds the national pace.”

Wallace cited Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ’s heavy influence on the regional economy for both positive and possible future negative factors. She also cited the presence of other national-level employers such as J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc. and the University of Arkansas, a strong research university, as positives for the area.
The next-highest ranked larger metropolitan area in Arkansas was Little Rock-North Little Rock, ranked No. 94 overall and up from No. 106 in 2004. The city’s lowest sector ranking was in job growth, at No. 168 with 0. 24 percent. Fort Smith also ranked higher this year, moving up to No. 154 from No. 155 in 2004.

Three Arkansas MSAs were included in the Milken listing of the best 179 small cities. Hot Springs was ranked at No. 69. It was not ranked in 2004. Jonesboro ranked No. 99, down from No. 64 in 2004. Pine Bluff was ranked at No. 144, down from No. 94 in 2004.
Mitch Chandler, director of communications for the Arkansas Department of Economic Development, said Northwest Arkansas ’ ranking for the third year shows that the area’s growth is a proven trend. “This shows the phenomenal and consistent growth of the area.” he said.

Job and wage growth are the strongest contributors to the listing, said Jeff Collins, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the Sam M. Walton College of Business.
The Walton College is part of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. “Job and wage growth is a 15- to 20-year trend, not a one- to two-year trend,” Collins said. “Given that this measures the entire country on the same data, it gives a lot of validation to be listed in the top 10 from year to year.” He predicts that the region will continue to do well with those growth drivers in place. The region scored its highest ranking in the five-year wage and salary growth category, taking the No. 3 spot. It was ranked 14th in one-year wage and salary growth. The five-year job growth ranking was 7th and the one-year job growth was ranked 23 rd.

WEAKEST LINK:
The region’s lowest ranking — No. 154 — was in the area of technology output growth. Collins said the high-tech industry is one in which the state traditionally performs poorly. “Employment opportunities for Arkansas seem to be overly weighted to the lower educated and lower-paying jobs,” he said. And added that even the University of Arkansas ’ efforts to push technology-based business is not enough to push the state out of the lowest levels of technology development. “We still don’t attract a lot of research and development activity, which is the precursor to higher-wage industries,” Collins said. “The UA is still too small in this area. Larger universities can get concentrations of engineers and scientists who can cooperate and collaborate on research.”

HOUSING CONCERNS:
Milken’s Wallace also cited the increased housing values as a growth factor in the region, a positive indicator of the present economy but a possible future concern. “Housing rates and values are near the national level,” she said. “That may pose a risk going forward.” Unless other economic indexes also rise to the national level, increased interest rates or a slowing of the construction rate will influence the affordability of housing in the region. Collins said the housing component is a relatively small sector in the Milken Institute’s ranking data. “But there is some disconnect between supply and demand in housing,” he said. “While I have some concerns about segments in the market, there is still opportunity for growth and profit in housing after careful planning and consideration.” He said the national housing values really don’t contribute much to the local housing market. “The people who are moving in here and buying houses are already paying the national rates,” he said. “This doesn’t affect them.”

Condensed from: NWA News, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, February 23, 2006

Architects studying possibility of light rail in Northwest Arkansas

Studies through the University of Arkansas School of Architecture are being conducted to research how a light rail system might alter development in Northwest Arkansas. Teams have recently studied the Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, and the possibility of establishing a light rail system in the Washington, D. C. area.

A concept posed in the past for NW Arkansas would traverse 41.27 miles of rail with about 10 stations along the Interstate 540 corridor and a loop to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. Buses could be used to tie more immediate areas to the rail, and high-occupancy lanes could be established along the interstate.

NW Arkansas needs something like this and needs it fast. Rush hour traffic is horrendous and daytime traffic is not too much better. Studies indicate that approximately 1000 additional people move to this area every month. Unfortunately, the infrastructure isn’t keeping up. Some sort of public transportation system is needed to alleviate the congestion on our roads.

Source: Northwest Arkansas Times, February 12, 2006

NW Arkansas Population Growth

The Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas has done a series of studies of the economy, not only of Arkansas and the nation, but also specifically measuring economic factors in NW Arkansas. Some of their results are very interesting. In terms of population, using data from the Census Bureau, the Center estimates that the population of NW Arkansas will increase 60% by the year 2025, using 2002 as a baseline year. The 2002 population of the area was 780,541. The estimated population in 2025 (according to the Center) will be 1,253,234, which will be almost 1/3 of the population of the entire state of Arkansas in that year. Other parts of the state will also gain in population but at a lesser rate, and the SE part of Arkansas is actually losing population.

Source: U of A Center for Business and Economic Research