Mission
Arkansas State University educates leaders, enhances intellectual growth, and enriches lives.
Core Values
Arkansas State University values the following as central to our success:
- Student-Centered: We are committed to education, inquiry and service in order to meet students’ changing needs. We foster lifelong learning, civic and social responsibility, leadership, and individual and career growth.
- Learning-Centered: We nurture intellectual flexibility, knowledge and skills by integrating teaching, research, assessment and learning to promote continuous improvement of our scholarly community.
- Excellence: We pursue excellence within the campus community through opportunities for achievement in teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity and service.
- Diversity: We embrace diversity in all of its dimensions realizing that mutual respect for individuality and the inclusion of all are vital for both personal and institutional success.
- Service: We support and recognize service at all levels of the university. We strive to contribute to the benefit of the university, the Delta, the state, the nation and the world.
- Integrity: We hold high standards of character and integrity as the foundations upon which the university is built.
University Learning Outcomes
A-State seeks to graduate students with the following knowledge and skills:
- Creative and Critical Thinking: Students will demonstrate the creative and critical thinking skills needed to evaluate relevant information and/or ideas, formulate innovative strategies, and solve problems.
- Communication: Students will communicate effectively in social, academic, and professional contexts using a variety of means, including written, oral, numeric/quantitative, graphic, and/or visual modes as appropriate to topic, audience, and discipline.
- Social and Civic Responsibility: Students will understand the impact and consequences of their actions upon themselves and others, as well as their roles as citizens of a free democratic society.
- Diversity and Globalization: Students will be able to live and work effectively with others as an engaged member of a diverse and global society.
Vision
Arkansas State University aspires to be an academic leader recognized for innovation and quality in teaching and learning, international standing in strategic research areas, and commitment to outreach and service to the Delta and beyond.
Location
The university is located about halfway between the Mississippi River Valley, one of the most fertile areas in the world, and the Ozark Mountains, rich in American folklore and tradition. The university campus occupies an area of 800 acres on the gently rolling slopes of Crowley’s Ridge, in the city of Jonesboro.
History
Arkansas State University is a Carnegie Foundation R2 national doctoral-granting institution serving the upper Mississippi Delta region. Dedicated to teaching, research and service, the university provides students with the broad educational foundations that help develop critical thinking and analytical skills, decision-making capabilities, and communication skills.This institution was founded in Jonesboro in 1909 by the Arkansas General Assembly as a regional agricultural training school. It began offering a two-year college program in 1918, then became “First District Agricultural and Mechanical College” in 1925. A four-year degree program was begun in 1930, then A & M College became “Arkansas State College” in 1933. The Arkansas Legislature elevated the college to university status and changed the name to Arkansas State University in 1967. Today, the institution has more than 100,000 alumni. A-State has received notable rankings in recent years, moving into the “National Universities” category in U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Colleges” rankings in 2019, and being named Best in South by Princeton Review, gold-level Military Friendly Schools, and a top online value by a wide range of internet rating groups. A-State has extended its global reach with the only U.S.-style campus in Queretaro, Mexico. A-State is also host to the first osteopathic medical school in Arkansas, the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. More information about A-State is available online at AState.edu.
Degree Programs
Master degree graduate programs were initiated in 1955, and Arkansas State began offering its first doctoral degree, in educational leadership, in the fall of 1992. In addition, doctoral programs are now offered in environmental science, heritage studies, molecular biosciences, nursing practice, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. Programs at the specialist, master, bachelor and associate degree levels are available through the various colleges: Agriculture; Neil Griffin College of Business; Education and Behavioral Science; Engineering and Computer Science; Liberal Arts and Communication; Nursing and Health Professions; Beck College of Sciences and Mathematics; and University College.
Accreditation
Arkansas State University’s commitment to excellence in higher education is demonstrated through its accreditation by The Higher Learning Commission, based in Chicago, as well as 37 discipline-specific accrediting organizations. In addition, the university holds membership in numerous national organizations that support the highest educational standards.
The ASU System
The Arkansas State University System includes the main campus of Arkansas State University, A-State, which is in Jonesboro; the newest addition, Henderson State University, a four-year institution in Arkadelphia; and five two-year institutions: ASU-Beebe, ASU-Newport, ASU-Mountain Home, ASU Mid-South, in West Memphis, and ASU Three Rivers, in Malvern. A-State includes Campus Queretaro in the State of Queretaro, Mexico. ASU-Beebe has campuses in Heber Springs and Searcy and an instructional site at Little Rock Air Force Base. ASU-Newport also has campuses in Jonesboro and Marked Tree. Dr. Charles L. Welch is president of the ASU System, which was formally established by Board of Trustees resolution effective July 1, 2006, although it had operated as a system much longer. Junior Agricultural College of Central Arkansas joined the system in 1955 as ASC-Beebe, later becoming ASU-Beebe. White River Vo-Tech at Newport became associated with ASU-Beebe in 1992; that institution is now ASU- Newport. The Mountain Home campus officially became ASU-Mountain Home on July 1, 1995. Delta Technical Institute at Marked Tree, which came into the system in 2001, is now an ASU-Newport campus. ASU-Beebe opened a sister campus at Heber Springs in 1999. Foothills Technical Institute was merged with ASU-Beebe on July 1, 2003, and is now the Searcy campus of ASU-Beebe. Mid-South Community College in West Memphis became a system member in 2015 as ASU Mid-South. College of the Ouachitas in Malvern joined the system in 2020 as ASU Three Rivers. Henderson State University joined the system in February 2021. A-State also offers bachelor degree programs, master degree programs and upper level courses through degree centers at ASU-Beebe, ASU-Mountain Home, and ASU Mid-South.
Enrollment
Arkansas State University has grown significantly over the past three decades. A-State’s enrollment in the fall of 2021 was 13,752. Home to the largest online program in the State of Arkansas, A-State also has the largest graduate enrollment, largely through several 100% percent online programs
Library
The Dean B. Ellis Library, centrally located in an eight-story building, functions as an educational center for the university community. It houses an open shelf collection which includes over 620,000 print books and periodicals, 500,000 federal and state documents, 590,000 units in microform, over 30,000 CDs and DVDs, and provides online access to millions of books, articles, and other resources, including more than 350,000 eBooks. The collection encompasses all subject fields, but emphasizes subjects covered by Arkansas State University courses and degree programs. The Library of Congress classification system is used for the arrangement of books, and an online catalog provides access to its print collection and electronic resources. Reserve items are available at the Circulation Desk.
The library meets the informational needs of the university by offering a variety of services. A staff of 13 professional librarians and 18 support personnel acquires, organizes, and maintains the physical collections and provide access to online resources. The library assists users in locating information and in the use of the library building. An active library instruction program offers the Introduction to Academic Research courses (LIR 1011 and 1023) and reaches numerous university classes with individualized instruction sessions. Online databases provide access to eBooks, journals and data not housed within the library. Materials that are not contained in the library’s collections may be borrowed from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan.
Special collections include 1) the Cass S. Hough Aeronautical Collection of 14,000 books and memorabilia which has been described as the single most valuable collection of aviation materials in private hands; 2) an outstanding collection of Lois Lenski books for children; 3) collections of notable Arkansas authors of children’s books: Charlie May Simon, Lois Snelling, Faith Yingling Knoop; and 4) a collection of Arkansas writer John Gould Fletcher.
The Tom Love Collection forms the nucleus of an extensive “Arkansas Collection.” It is comprised of manuscripts, documents, and other historic materials relating to the state of Arkansas. In addition, the Arkansas Room collection contains Arkansas topographic and other maps, Arkansas State University publications, and the student newspaper, The Herald.
The Honorable E. C. Gathings Collection is comprised principally of correspondence from Arkansas’ long-time congressional representative, making available primary research materials relating to the First Congressional District during Gathings’ time of service in the Congress.
The Honorable Bill Alexander Collection expands and extends the research materials relating to the First Congressional District through Congressman Alexander’s tenure as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Alexander and Gathings collections cover 53 years, 1939 to 1992.
The collection of creation science papers, donated by former Arkansas Attorney General Steve Clark, includes the state’s side of the landmark creation science case.
The Judd Hill Collection, Mabel H. Gieseck Collection, and the Ira Twist, Jr. Collection form the core of a primary research emphasis on the agricultural development and environment transformation of Eastern Arkansas.
An Oral History Program, housed in the library, has conducted and taped interviews with a number of local citizens and state leaders. The tapes are available for use by any interested researcher who comes to the library.
In addition to materials directly related to classroom and research work, the library provides students with general and recreational reading materials, and a wide variety of spaces to study or relax. Exhibits and displays presenting ideas and issues are also a regular part of ongoing service and outreach activities.
Heritage Sites
The Arkansas State University Heritage Sites program develops and operates heritage sites of regional and national significance in the Arkansas Delta. These sites provide educational resources for formal and informal learning, including serving as laboratories for the Heritage Studies Ph.D. program. In addition, they serve as economic catalysts in communities where they are located by attracting heritage tourists from around the country. These sites currently include the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center in Piggott, the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum in Tyronza, the Lakeport Plantation in Lake Village, the Historic Dyess Colony: Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, the Kays House on the university campus, and other affiliated sites.
Museum
Arkansas State University Museum is located on the A-State campus in Jonesboro in the west wing of the Dean B. Ellis Library building. The Museum serves the academic mission of the University as a teaching museum and provides quality programming that broadens the perceptions and aspirations of people in Northeast Arkansas and the Mississippi River Delta region, connects people with their history, promotes tolerance, engages minds in progressive thinking, and enhances the sense of community among all audiences. Of the more than 35,000 museums in the United States, A-State Museum is one of fewer than 1100 accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
With 16,000 square feet of exhibit space and more than 60,000 regionally acquired objects, A-State Museum is a veritable treasure of Northeast Arkansas history, culture, and natural history. Long-term exhibits feature fossils going back 300 million years ago, a fully articulated Mastodon skeleton replica, a gallery on prehistoric Native American life and culture, artifacts illustrating early settlement in Northeast Arkansas (“Living Off the Land”), period exhibits highlighting shops typical of regional towns dating 1880-1920 (“Old Town Arkansas”), a military gallery, decorative arts, and more.
Multiple activities target children and support state-mandated curriculum, including science, technology, engineering and math-notably, hands-on exhibits about prehistoric peoples in Northeast Arkansas, the early European exploration of Arkansas, and the New Madrid Seismic Zone. The Museum offers a Tinkering Studio and family-oriented events such as TinkerFest (June) and Día de los Muertos (November). Juried children’s art from area schools is featured every April in “Through a Child’s Eyes.”
The Museum is open Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM, with closure on Sundays, Mondays, and University holidays. Free tours are available by appointment (870-972-2074). Limited free parking is available in the parking lot south of the Museum. School buses and large groups, please call for parking instructions.
Delta Studies Center
The Delta Studies Center at Arkansas State University from program startup in 1998 has worked to increase Delta regional understanding, to enhance a sense of place and to address the challenges and community economic development opportunities of delta regionalism - as well as to strategically encourage national and international poverty alleviation scholarship and public policy related to the region. The center targets the lower Mississippi River corridor, its river tributaries and strip of mostly persistent poverty counties and cities located along both riverbanks. This landscape constitutes the physical and natural geography of the seven-state Lower Mississippi River Valley.
The Delta Studies Center focuses priority attention on the delta definition and development social movement of the recent past as embodied since 2002 in the ongoing operation and sustenance of the Delta Regional Authority - one of the most impactful multi-state intergovernmental public policy innovations of the recent past. The center works across campus with university departments, centers and programs to support multi-cultural interdisciplinary studies and activities directed towards achievement of equity and the quality of life envisioned by the people and institutions of the Delta.
The center operates with a community-building and civic engagement mission, particularly through internships and public service within the sub-state political geography of the eight-state Delta Regional Authority program service area. Specific activities of the center include dissemination of information; workshops and applied research; case study and oral history community documentation; public policy development and analysis; resource mobilization for program development; and, collaboration with federal, state, local government agencies and nonprofit anchor institutions.
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