Official History of the University of Central Arkansas

The University of Central Arkansas (UCA) has a history as robust as its educational offerings. UCA began as a normal school and is now a terminal degree-granting university. 

The groundwork for the Arkansas State Normal School (ASNS) began in 1907 with the passage of Act 317 and the advocacy of John Doyne and Burr Walter Torreyson. Doyne saw a need for structured teaching training in the predominantly rural population. Doyne and Torreyson lobbied Otis T. Wingo, who sponsored a bill to establish a state normal school, and Doyne authored what ultimately became Act 317. Act 317 stipulated that a normal school site proposal would not be considered unless the proposal included twenty acres of land and $15,000. Conway offered 51,753 dollars and three different plots of land; the largest tract was 80 acres. 

Establishment of the Institution 

The ASNS opened its doors on Monday, September 21, 1908, with an enrollment of around one hundred. The only diploma offered at ASNS from 1908-1920 was the Licentiate of Instruction. No housing was offered until 1913 when Doyne Hall was completed as a women’s dormitory; prior to its opening, ASNS students sought room and board within the Conway community. In 1917, John Doyne resigned as the president of the ASNS, and Burr Walter Torreyson became the second president of the ASNS. Old Main was built in 1919 as the administration building and still stands in the center of campus.

School spirit and athletics were present since the beginnings of UCA; by 1910, the school colors of purple and gray had been selected by Ida Waldran and W.O. Wilson, football and baseball had been established, and the fight song, “March of the Purple and Gray” had been penned by Miss Ethel Swartwood, the head of the Department of Music and Reading. The school had found their mascot: a bear! A live black bear named “Big Boy” was the official mascot of the ASNS football team in the 1920s. 

The 1920s was an exciting decade for the school; by 1926, several school spirit societies had been established at the ASNS, the first Bachelor of Arts had been awarded to Mattie Brown, and the Arkansas State Normal School became the Arkansas State Teachers College (ASTC). J.C. Dawson submitted legislation seeking the name change of the school and, in 1925, the bill became Act 31. In 1929, construction on a new library building began and was completed in the spring of 1930. The old library building would go on to become Harrin Hall. 

The Great Depression did not leave ASTC untouched, and the New Deal Programs enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt led to a building boom on the ASTC campus. McAlister Hall was constructed in 1934 and became the new women’s dormitory; Wingo Hall, named after Otis T. Wingo (an early supporter of the bill to establish the Arkansas State Normal School), was originally used as a residence hall. The Ida Waldran Auditorium was constructed in 1937, and in 1938, Conway Corporation gifted 240 acres of land to ASTC. The 1930s were not only an important decade for campus growth but for academics as well with the first Bachelor of Science was awarded in 1931. 

World War II and Post-War Changes 

The second World War had a major impact on ASTC; 1941 saw the resignation of President McAlister so he could serve active duty military. President McAlister recommended Dr. Nolen Meadows Irby as his successor, and Dr. Irby took over as the president that same year. From 1943 to 1945, the Women’s Auxiliary Corps existed on campus. Enrollment had declined due to the war, and by 1945 it had become clear that the school buildings and facilities had fallen into disrepair and required attention. The 1940s saw a shift away from general education and a movement toward a more liberal arts-informed focus. 

The 1950s and 1960s brought large strides for ASTC. Silas D. Snow became the fifth president on October 29, 1953. In 1957, Thomas Embry became the first Black student to attend the college, and Joseph Norman Manley became the first Black graduate of the college in 1958. Also in 1957, an all-female drill team known as the T-Steppers was created. Enrollment reached 1,336 for the 1957-1958 school year. In the late 1960s, the Counseling Center and the School of Nursing were established. The Lewis Science Center installed a telescope in 1968 that was considered the most powerful in the state at the time. In 1967, the college became known as the State College of Arkansas, and this name would only be in place until 1975, making it the shortest-held name in the history of the institution.

Modernization and Growth

In 1975, the State College of Arkansas earned its university status and became the University of Central Arkansas (UCA). President Snow, who had worked tirelessly to see the college become a university, retired in 1975. He holds the record as the longest-serving president of the University of Central Arkansas. Jefferson D. Farris became the sixth president of UCA in 1975. Under the Farris administration, there would be a major shift from an open to a more selective admissions process, and by 1982, plans for an honors college came to fruition with the founding of the Schedler Honors College. It was the first college of its kind in the state of Arkansas and the fourteenth of its kind in the nation. The UCA Press was established in 1985. In 1986, Torreyson Library became the first fully automated library in the state, and the UCA Archives was founded. The 1980s was not only an important decade for academics, it was also an important decade for athletics. Talk began of UCA transitioning from an NAIA school to an NCAA school, and in 1983, Scottie Pippen began playing basketball for UCA. Pippen would go on to play for the Chicago Bulls and win an NBA title and an Olympic gold medal in both 1992 and 1996. President Farris resigned in 1986, and Bill Pate and H.B. Hardy would serve as the interim presidents of the university until Dr. Winfred L. Thompson became the seventh president of UCA in 1988. President Thompson would oversee a large-scale building and renovation program for the entirety of his presidency. 

In 1992 and 1993, UCA began to see the fruits of the seeds it had sown in the previous decade. In 1992, Baridon Hall was dedicated, and in 1993, UCA transitioned from a NAIA school to a NCAA Division II school, and the Instructional Development Center came into existence. Significant leaps in academics occurred during this decade including the establishment of a speech and communication active learning and assistance laboratory; Hughes Residential College becoming one of the first residential colleges in the state, and the approval of two PhD programs and one clinical doctoral program. 

Recent Developments

In 2000, the Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Building opened, and in 2001, the UCA Honors College celebrated its 20th anniversary. Voting unanimously, the UCA Board of Trustees supported the decision to make UCA a Division I school in 2005. President Thompson resigned from his post at the university in 2001 and was replaced by Dr. John Smith on an interim basis. Lu Hardin became the eighth president of UCA on September 23, 2002. In 2007, UCA celebrated one hundred years in existence, and the Student Health Center was completed. President Hardin submitted his resignation letter in August 2008, and Tom Courtway became the interim president. Dr. Allen Meadors became the president in 2009 and would serve as the ninth president of UCA until 2011 when Tom Courtway was appointed as the 10th president.   The first phase of Greek Village was completed in 2015, and in 2016 Donaghey Hall and the Conway Corporation Center for Sciences were completed. President Courtway resigned in December 2016, and Mr. Kelley Erstine served as interim president.

UCA Today

Dr. Houston Davis became the 11th president of UCA in January 2017 and still serves in this role. Also in 2017, Hermanidad de Sigma Iota Alpha became the second Latina sorority to exist in the state of Arkansas. In 2021, the university opened the Integrated Health Sciences Building, and in 2023 the university opened the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts.  In 2023, UCA announced the UCA Commitment, a program that will provide a debt-free pathway for incoming Arkansas freshmen with a household income of $100,000  or less, furthering the commitment to Arkansans and their education.