Buckley T Foster
Assistant Professor
Irby 111
(501) 450-3158
Dr. Buckley T. Foster is an accomplished historian and professor with over twenty-five years of experience teaching American, Southern, Military, and Arkansas history at both two-year and four-year institutions across the South and Midwest. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Arkansas History at the University of Central Arkansas, where he previously held appointments as Senior Lecturer and Visiting Assistant Professor.
Dr. Foster holds a Ph.D. in 19th-century Southern History from Mississippi State University, with subfields in environmental history and the application of science and technology to the study of history. He earned both his B.A. and M.A. in History from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. His research explores Civil War military campaigns, rural life in Arkansas, and the history of hunting and conservation. His latest book (Chosen as an Arkansas Gem for 2025), So Great Was the Slaughter: Market Hunting, Sportsmen, and Wildlife Conservation in Arkansas, published by the University of Alabama Press in 2025, adds to his growing body of scholarship that includes Sherman’s Mississippi Campaign (2006) and an edited Civil War diary of one of Stonewall Jackson’s colonels, scheduled for release in 2026.
Dr. Foster has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes, state newspapers, and popular history magazines. His work appears in the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Greenhead, Arkansas Wildlife Magazine, and the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. He has reviewed ozens of scholarly works and frequently presents at conferences, museums, and civic organizations.
Beyond his scholarship, Dr. Foster is an engaged public historian and mentor. He has directed student theses, overseen service-learning museum projects, and served as a judge and advisor for Arkansas History Day. He has received multiple research and teaching awards, including a UCA Research Grant and the Mississippi HEA Outstanding Faculty Honoree award.
Dr. Foster’s service record includes appointments to the Prairie Grove Battlefield Commission, the Arkansas Historical Association Board, and the Arkansas Humanities Council. He also created the James L. Foster and Billy W. Beason Award to promote graduate research in Arkansas history. His commitment to public history, teaching excellence, and regional scholarship defines his academic career.
He is an advocate for sporting ethics and a lifelong practitioner of the art of waterfowl hunting. Winter break will find him in the sloughs, swamps, and waterways in pursuit of whistling wings.