Arkansas Tech University

Aerial view of Arkansas Tech University, 2008

In 1909, Act 100, passed by the Arkansas General Assembly and signed by Governor George Donaghey, provided for the creation of one agricultural high school in each of four districts stipulated in the act, with what would eventually become Arkansas Tech University in the Second District.[3][4][5]

The schools were to teach horticulture and textile making in addition to agriculture. The location for each of the four schools was to be chosen by that district's five trustees, appointed by the Governor, taking into consideration "the nature of the soil, healthfulness of location, general desirability, and other material inducements offered, such as the donation of buildings, land or money." The four schools eventually evolved into four present-day institutions of higher learning. The First District Agricultural School at Jonesboro evolved into Arkansas State University; the Second District Agricultural School in Russellville is today's Arkansas Tech University; the Third District Agricultural School in Magnolia became Southern Arkansas University; and the University of Arkansas Monticello began as the Fourth District Agricultural School.[5]

After evaluating proposals from Fort Smith, Morrilton, Ozark, and Russellville, on February 10, 1910, Second District Agricultural School trustees announced that the school would be located in Russellville.[6] Construction of the school's Main Building began on April 10, 1910,[7] with contracts for additional buildings let in June 1910.[8] On October 26, 1910, the first classes were held in Russellville. The original purpose of the school was to offer a secondary (or high school) education in agricultural and technical subjects.[9] Later on, the school took on the first two years of college instruction, and the school's name was changed to Arkansas Polytechnic College by the General Assembly in 1925 to reflect this change in purpose. The school became a two-year junior college in 1927 and, at the end of the 1929-1930 academic year, stopped offering high school classes.[10]

The school took on its current name of Arkansas Tech University on July 9, 1976.

In the fall of 2003, Arkansas Tech University announced it intended to take over the state vocational school, Arkansas Valley Technical Institute, in Ozark, the seat of Franklin County. As of July 1, 2004, the Ozark campus has acted as a satellite campus of Arkansas Tech and has begun offering coursework leading toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in various subjects.

From 1997 to 2015, enrollment at Arkansas Tech increased by 183 percent. The fall of 2015 marked the 17th consecutive year that Arkansas Tech established a new institutional record for largest enrollment at 12,054 students, making ATU the 3rd largest institution of higher learning in the state.

Arkansas Tech has invested $180 million in upgrades to its infrastructure since 1995 and the university has added more than 40 new academic programs of study under the leadership of Robert C. Brown, who has served as president of Arkansas Tech since 1993. In April 2014, Robin E. Bowen was selected by the university trustees selected to succeed Brown. When she took office on 1 July 2014, she became the first woman to lead a four-year, public Arkansas university.[11] On September 9, 2023, the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees voted unanimously to fire Bowen and appoint Russell Jones as interim president.[12]

Sororities

• Alpha Sigma Tau
• Delta Zeta
• Zeta Tau Alpha
• Zeta Phi Beta
• Phi Mu

Service / Co-ed

• Alpha Phi Omega

Music Greek Fraternities and Sororities

• Sigma Alpha Iota
• Tau Beta Sigma
• Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia

Baseball pitcher Bryson Morris in 2014

Arkansas Tech University has dual nicknames: men's athletic teams are called the Wonder Boys, while the women's teams are called the Golden Suns.

Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field

• Chartwells Women's Sports Complex (tennis, softball)
• Hull Building (Athletic Training, Athletic Performance Development, intramurals)
• Tech Field (baseball, capacity 600)
• Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field (football, capacity 6,500)
• Tucker Coliseum (basketball/volleyball, capacity 3,500)

On November 15, 1919, John Tucker, a 17-year-old freshman from Russellville, scored two touchdowns and kicks two extra points to lead the Second District Agricultural School Aggies to a 14–0 upset win over Jonesboro. In newspaper accounts following the game, Tucker and his teammates were referred to as "Wonder Boys," and the nickname remains to this day. Tucker was labeled as "The Original Wonder Boy" and was associated with the school for the rest of his life. He went on to play on the University of Alabama's Rose Bowl team in 1931 and served Arkansas Tech in a variety of roles – including coach, athletic director and chemistry professor – between 1925 and 1972. Two buildings on the Tech campus – Tucker Coliseum and Tucker Hall – are named in his honor.[14]

Tired of being referred to as the Wonder Girls or Wonderettes, the female athletes of Arkansas Tech held a contest in the spring of 1975 to determine what their new mascot would be. Several names were nominated, but in the end, the athletes selected Golden Suns as their new nickname.[15]