University of Arkansas

and business programs.. It is also noted for the national success of its debate teams, and for its engineering program winning the 2006 national solar-powered boat championships.

The University of Arkansas strives to be known as a "nationally competitive, student-centered research university serving Arkansas and the world". The school recently completed their "Campaign for the 21st Century", in which they raised over $1 billion for the school, including the creation of a new Honors College, and added money for their endowment. Among these gifts were the largest donation given to a business school at the time ($50 million), and the largest gift given to a public university in America ($300 million), both given by the Walton Family Charitable Foundation.

Enrollment for the fall semester of 2005 was 17,821, with 2,948 (17%) being graduate students. The University campus is represented by 130 buildings on 345 acres, including the Inn at Carnall Hall, which serves as an on-campus hotel facility. Academic programs are in excess of 200. The ratio of students to faculty is 17:1.

History

Plaque on University of Arkansas campus

The University of Arkansas was founded in 1871, on the site of a former hilltop farm that overlooked the Ozark Mountains (giving it the nickname "The Hill").

The University was established under the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862. The University's founding also satisfied the provision in the Arkansas Constitution of 1868 that the General Assembly was to "establish and maintain a State University."

Initially, to found the University, $130,000 was raised by the citizens of Washington County. This was in response to the competition created by the Arkansas General Assembly's Organic Act of 1871, providing for the "location, organization and maintenance of the Arkansas Industrial University with a normal department [i.e., teacher education] therein."

Completed in 1875, Old Main, 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. It is known for it's northern tower being taller than the southern tower. Although the original plans called for the southern tower to be taller, as a post-Civil War salute to the South, northern contractors switched the plans and made the northern tower higher. The southern tower features a clock, and at 5 pm every day, the chimes from the northern tower play the school's Alma Mater. Old Main housed many of the earliest classes taught at the university, and has served as the offices of every college within the Univeristy during its history. Today, in addition to hosting classes, it contains the restored Giffels Auditorium and historic displays, as well as the administrative offices of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences.

The lawn at Old Main serves as an arboretum, where each type of tree found in the state of Arkansas is also found on the lawn. Sitting at the edge of the lawn is Spoofer's Stone, noted as a meeting place for couples. When a couple got engaged, they broke a piece of the stone off. Today the stone is protected, as it had steadily decreased in size over the years.

Beginning with the class of 1876, the names of University of Arkansas graduates are inscribed in "Senior Walk," which meanders more than five miles across the entire campus, and is one of a kind nationally. The sidewalks of the university bear the engraved names of everyone who has ever graduated (with any type of degree) from the University. Most recently, the names of all the recipients of honorary degrees were added. School superstition states that it is bad luck to step on the Class of 1900.

One of the most unique structures at Arkansas is the Chi Omega Greek Theatre, a gift to the school by the national headquarters of the sorority.It marked the first time in the history of Greek letter social organizations that a national sorority had presented a memorial of its foundation to the institution where it was founded. Chi Omega was organized on April 5, 1895, at the University of Arkansas and is the mother (Psi) chapter of the national organization. The theater has been used for commencements, convocations, concerts, dramas, and pep rallies. The largest crowd ever assembled hereâ€"upwards of 6,000, according to professor Walter J. Lemkeâ€"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.

The University of Arkansas became the first major Southern public university to admit an African-American student without litigation when Silas Hunt of Texarkana, an African American veteran of World War II, was admitted to the University's law school in 1948. Roy Wilkins, 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."

Vitamin E was co-discovered by UA Agricultural Chemistry Professor Barnett Sure (1920-51). Sure, along with fellow professor Marinus C. Kik (1927-67) made major advances in nutrition science during their long tenures at the University of Arkansas. Sure co-discovered vitamin E, and extended knowledge of how vitamin E, amino acids and B-vitamins function on reproduction and lactation. Kik developed the process for parboiling rice to increase retention of vitamins and shorten cooking time. He documented benefits of adding fish and chicken to rice and grain diets to provide adequate protein for a growing world population. 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.

The most widely-implemented automated mail sorting equipment in the worldâ€"the Wide Area Bar Code Readerâ€"was developed by the University of Arkansas' College of Engineering. A $50,000 grant from the U.S. Postal Service (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 were in the vanguard of research in superconductivity: the phenomenon whereby Direct Current (DC) electricity, once started, can flow essentially forever. The Thallium-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 numerous patents and a manufacturing agreement, as well as further advances in high-density electronics.

University of Arkansas plant pathologists George Templeton, Roy Smith (USDA), David TeBeest and graduate student Jim Daniels 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.

Campuses and academic divisions

Old Main Building on the campus of the University of Arkansas.

Altogether, there are eleven branches and three other units in the University system, including the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and a branch campus in Pine Bluff. Other branch campuses are in Monticello, Little Rock, and Fort Smith. Additionally, the UA System comprises community college campuses in Hope, Batesville, De Queen, Morrilton, and the Phillips Community College in Helena. Units coming under the UA System include the Criminal Justice Institute, the Arkansas Archaeological Survey, and the Division of Agriculture. The University also maintains the most advanced secondary educational institution in Arkansas, the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Science, and the Arts in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

The following degree-granting academic divisions are located on the Fayetteville campus:
* Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food & Life Sciences
** School of Human Environmental Sciences
* School of Architecture
* J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences
** School of Social Work
** Walter Lemke School of Journalism
* Sam Walton College of Business
** Graduate School of Business
* College of Education and Health Professions
** Eleanor Mann School of Nursing
* College of Engineering
* Graduate School
* Honors College
* School of Law
* Division of Continuing Education
* The Clinton School of Public Service

Campus

Several buildings on campus, including the Fine Arts Complex and Carlson Terrace, a campus apartment complex, were designed by Fayetteville native Edward Durrell Stone, who also designed the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The buildings are indicative of Stone's idiosyncratic modern style which included patterns of ornament.

Five buildings of Carlson Terrace have been razed on west side of the College Creek Branch. A new park has been built on that site with grasspave for tailgating prior to Arkansas Razorback home football games. Plans also include revitalizing College Creek Branch.

All computers with internet access on the University's campus have IP addresses beginning with 130.184. Also, all non-dormitory telephone numbers begin with 479-575 and most postal addresses include the zip code 72701.

Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium and other parts of campus appear in the movie The Barbaric Beast of Boggy Creek, Part II

Sports

The Arkansas Razorbacks are the mascot of the University of Arkansas

The mascot for the University of Arkansas is the Razorback, a type of wild boar, and is often referred to as the Hogs (shortened version of Razorbacks). The school competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in Division I of the NCAA. Arkansas enjoys athletic success in many different sports.

Football

The school's football team is currently led by Coach Houston Nutt. The team plays its home games either at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, located on the University of Arkansas campus, or at War Memorial Stadium, located in Little Rock.

Basketball

The men's basketball team is coached by Stan Heath and plays home games in Bud Walton Arena on the University of Arkansas campus. The team won the 1994 National Championship under previous coach Nolan Richardson, who left the University in a very controversial move in which he claimed to have been racially discriminated against, although the University claimed he had resigned. This came after Nolan Richardson announced that they could have his job during a press conference.

Baseball

The baseball team, under Dave van Horn reached the 2004 College World Series. The team plays home games in Baum Stadium, which finished several major renovations in 2004.

Track and field

One of the most successful programs in NCAA history, the Arkansas men's track and field teams, led by head coach John McDonnell are the most decorated teams in the athletics department. The program has won 42 national titles in Cross Country and Track & Field. One of its most famous stars is recent graduate Alistair Cragg who competed for Ireland at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece. Other Olympians have included Michael Conley, Daniel Lincoln, Melvin Lister and Matt Hemingway. The team has a home indoor track at the Randal Tyson Track Center and outdoor field at John McDonnell Field, which is under renovation and expected to be finished for the 2006 SEC championships.

Women's Athletics

The women's teams at the University of Arkansas are referred to as the Lady Razorbacks or "Lady'Backs". There are 11 varsity women's sports: basketball, cross country, indoor and outdoor track, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, and volleyball. Among the most successful Lady'Back teams are volleyball, with 11 SEC Western Division titles; cross country with more SEC championships than any member institution; basketball with 17 postseason appearances in 30 years, including the 1998 NCAA Final Four; track and 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 two (soon three) NCAA appearances. Sprinter Veronica Campbell was the first Lady'Back to win a gold medal in the Olympics.

Traditions

Senior Walk

Senior Walk begins in front of Old Main.

The name of every graduating student at the University of Arkansas is carved into one of the concrete walkways or sidewalks on campus. This tradition was started by the 1905 graduating class, who drew their names into the walkway in front of Old Main, the oldest building on campus. Following classes added their names for more than a decade and then the university took over responsibility for adding new classes, as well as adding the names of students who graduated prior to 1905. Through most of the 20th century, the names were impressed in wet cement using brass letters. As the campus grew, and the graduating classes got bigger, the operation became unduly time-consuming. In 1986, the university's physical plant developed a special machine called the "Senior Sand Hog" to etch the thousands of names required each year.[1]

"Calling the Hogs"

Fans of the University of Arkansas have been "Calling the Hogs" since the 1920s, when it 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". Since then, this rallying cry has grown to become a traditional school yell that is performed at most home sporting events, and is one of the most well known traditions outside of the University. The length of Woo is a matter of contention. Traditionalists will called for a full eight-second Woo. NOTE: Sooie is not spelled Sooey -- as it infamously was on the cover of Sports Illustrated with UA basketball number one fan former President Bill Clinton.[2]

Calling the hogs is generally accompanied by hand gestures. Fans raise both hands in the air and wave their fingers during the "Woo." They then pump them down on the "Pig" and raise them back up on the "Sooie."

"Calling the Hogs" Lyrics

Woooooooooo, Pig ! Sooie!
Woooooooooo, Pig ! Sooie!
Woooooooooo, Pig ! Sooie!
Razorbacks