University of Arkansas

History and Founding

The University of Arkansas rests on a former hilltop farm overlooking the Ozark Mountains to the south. At the University?s founding in 1871, the site in Fayetteville was described as "second to none in the state of Arkansas."

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The University is both the major land-grant university for Arkansas and the state university. The University came into being under the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862, through which federal land sales provided funds for new colleges devoted to "agriculture and the mechanic arts," "scientific and classical studies," and "military tactics" for the "liberal and practical education of the industrial classes." The University?s founding satisfied the provision in the Arkansas Constitution of 1868 that the General Assembly "establish and maintain a State University."

Related Topics:
Morrill Land-Grant College Act - 1862 - Arkansas Constitution - 1868

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Citizens in Fayetteville, Arkansas and surrounding Washington County raised $130,000 to secure the University in a statewide competition sparked by the General Assembly?s Organic Act of 1871, providing for the "location, organization and maintenance of the Arkansas Industrial University with a normal department therein."

Related Topics:
Fayetteville, Arkansas - Washington County - Organic Act

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