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

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