College Name City State Start Date End Date Affiliation Other Information Source
Arkadelphia Methodist College Arkadelphia Arkansas 1890
Methodist became Henderson College in 1904, Henderson-Brown College in 1909, control by state in 1929 becoming Henderson State Teachers College; Burke states that Arkadelphia Synodical College was open before the Civil War and was chartered in 1860 Songe, Alice H. American Universities and Colleges: A Dictionary of Name Changes. 1978.
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.
Arkansas A & M Monticello Arkansas 1909
state supported founded as Fourth District Agricultural School by Act 100 of Arkansas General Assembly. Name changed to Arkansas A&M in 1925. Merged with University of Arkansas System and name changed to University of Arkansas at Monticello on July 1, 1971 Songe, Alice H. American Universitie and Colleges: A Dictionary of Name Changes. 1978.
Arkansas Christian College Morrilton Arkansas 1919
Churches of Christ purchased assets of Harper College (KS) in 1924; name changed to Harding College in 1924; moved to Searcy, AR in 1934; name change to Harding University in 1979 Songe, Alice H. American Universities and Colleges: A Dictionary of Name Changes. 1978.
Arkansas College Fayetteville Arkansas 1852 1861 Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 1st degree granting institution in the state; founded by Robert Graham; carefully emulated the concept of Bethany College (VA); closed during Civil War, was occupied by a confederate regiment and burned in 1862 http://www.uark.edu/libinfo/speccoll/arkcollegeaid.html
Cummins, D. Duane. The Disciples Colleges: A History. 1987.
Arkansas College Batesville Arkansas 1872
Presbyterian predecessor to Lyon College www.lyon.edu/webdata/Groups/Collhist/
Brenner, Morgan G. The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories. 2003.
Arkansas Conference College Shiloam Springs Arkansas
http://www.crl.edu/content.asp?l1=5&l2=22&l3=39&top=10
Arkansas Cumberland College Clarkville Arkansas 1891 1920 Cumberland Presbyterian successor to Cane Hill College; predecessor to College of the Ozarks; name change to University of the Ozarks in 1987 http://www.cumberland.org/hfcpc/schools/Arkansas.htm
http://www.ozarks.edu/about/history/history.html
Arkansas Female College Little Rock Arkansas
http://www.uark.edu/depts/speccoll/findingaids/arkfemalecollege.html
Arkansas Holiness College Vilonia Arkansas 1900 1931
college started in 1905; accepted by the church of the Nazarene in 1914; merged with Bethany-Peniel College http://snu.edu/?p={42F09E01-0937-423D-B1A9-18183A4B3A4A}
Arkansas Industrial University Fayetteville Arkansas 1871
state supported name changed to University of Arkansas in 1899 Brenner, Morgan G. The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories. 2003.
Arkansas Polytechnic College Russellville Arkansas 1909
state supported founded as Second District Agricultural School; name changed to Arkansas Polytechnic College in 1925 and to Arkansas Tech University in 1976 Brenner, Morgan G. The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories. 2003.
Arkansas State Teachers College Conway Arkansas 1907
state supported founded as Arkansas State Normal School; name changed to Arkansas State Teachers College in 1925; to State College of Arkansas in 1967 and to the University of Central Arkansas in 1975 Brenner, Morgan G. The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories. 2003.
Bentonville College Bentonville Arkansas 1896
Cummins, D. Duane. The Disciples Colleges: A History. 1987.
Bethel University North Little Rock Arkansas 1886
African Methodist Episcopal first classes met in Bethel A.M.E. Church; moved to Arkadelphia, Arkansas in 1888 and became Shorter University after 1892; later consolidated operations in North Little Rock and was known as Shorter College after 1903; went from four-year status to a two-year institution in 1955; lost North Central accreditation in 1997 Townsend, Barbara. Two-Year Colleges for Women and Minorities. 1999.
Branch Normal College Pine Bluff Arkansas 1873
state supported founded as a branch of the Normal Department of the Arkansas Industrial University; name changed to Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College in 1929; merged with University of Arkansas in 1972 becoming the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff www.uapb.edu/history/milestones.html
Brenner, Morgan G. The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories. 2003.
Buckner College Witcherville Arkansas 1887 1889 Episcopal
Hunt and Carper, eds. Religious Higher Education in the United States. 1996.
Cane Hill College Boonsboro Arkansas 1834 1891 Cumberland Presbyterian closed 1861 and burned in 1864 during the Civil War; rebuilt and reopeded in 1868; destroyed again by fire in 1885 and reopened in 1887; building used for public school after closure until 1950's; currently used as a community building; predecessor to Arkansas Cumberland College and later, College of the Ozarks http://www.cumberland.org/hfcpc/schools/Arkansas.htm;
www.cumberland.org/hfcpc/mcdonold/42-49.htm
http://www.ozarks.edu/about/history/history.html
Capital City Junior College
of Business Little Rock Arkansas
Mar-1994
first accredited by NCA 1987; student records available through Board of Private Career Education NCA web site
Central College Conway Arkansas
1947-48
first accredited by NCA 1925; also Central College for Young Ladies & Central College for Women NCA web site;
http://www.crl.edu/content.asp?l1=5&l2=22&l3=39&top=10
Clinton College Perryville Arkansas
T.L. Cox was president 1882-1886 www.couchgenweb.com/arkansas/conway/bios-c.htm
College of Saint Andrew Van Buren Arkansas 1850
Catholic
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.\
Commonwealth College Mena Arkansas 1923 1941
founded initially at New Llano Cooperative Colony in Louisiana; relocated to Arkansas the following year www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/701_reg_right.html
www.uark.edu/libinfo/speccoll/commonwealthaid.html
www.uark.edu/depts/speccoll/findingaids/gilbert.html
Koch, Raymond & Charlotte. Educational Commune: The Story of Commonwealth College. NY: Schocken Books. 1972.
Conway Baptist College Conway Arkansas 1952
Baptist opened on campus of former Central College; name changed to Central Baptist College in 1962 www.cbc.edu/History.htm
Cossatot Technical College De Queen Arkansas 1975
state supported name change to Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas in July 2001 http://www.cccua.edu/about.htm
Crescent College Eureka Springs Arkansas 1908 1924
opened in Crescent Hotel as Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women. During summers continued to operate as hotel. Closed in 1924 and then reopened as a junior college, 1930-1934. www.prairieghosts.com/cresc.html
Dunbar Junior College Little Rock Arkansas 1930 1955 public classes offered in Dunbar High School for blacks; closed by the School Board, citing inadequate finances; Samuel P. Massie was a distinguished graduate, a scientist, educator, and member of the Manhattan Project team during World War II. He was the first tenured black professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and also served the Maryland State Board of Community Colleges for 21 years, 10 as chairman; Another Dunbar alum, Lloyd C. Elam, completed his MD at the University of Washington and later served as a professor at Meharry Medical College and as interim dean of the school of medicine www.queenhyte.com/dobb/dobb_04/dobb_feb04.html
www.ualr.edu/~lrsd/chap2.html
First District Agricultural & Mechanical College Jonesboro Arkansas 1909
state supported founded as First District Agricultural School; name changed to First District Agricultural & Mechanical College in 1925, to Arkansas State College in 1933 and to Arkansas State University in 1967 Brenner, Morgan G. The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories. 2003.
Fort Smith Junior College Fort Smith Arkansas 1928
state supported became Westark Junior College in 1966; name change to Westark Community College in 1972 and to Westark College in 1998; absorbed by University of Arkansas system and known as University of Arkansas at Fort Smith in 2002 March 23, 2001 Chronicle of Higher Education
http://www.uafortsmith.edu
Galloway Women's College Searcy Arkansas
1933 Methodist Episcopal first accredited by NCA 1932; merged with Hendrix College in 1933 NCA web site
http://www.hendrix.edu/AboutHendrix/history/19311940.htm
www.phumc.com/tower/5.6.01/tower51.htm
Garland County Community College Hot Springs Arkansas 1973
state supported joined with Quapaw Technical Institute and became National Park Community College in July 2003 http://www.npcc.edu/About/history.htm
Gateway Technical College Batesville Arkansas 1991
state supported merged with University of Arkansas system to become University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville in 1998 http://www.uaccb.edu
Henderson-Brown College Arkadelphia Arkansas 1890 1929 Methodist Episcopal founded as Arkadelphia Methodist College; became Henderson College in 1904 and Henderson-Brown College in 1909; physical plant controlled by state in 1929 to form Henderson State Teachers College; merged with Hendrix College (Conway, AR) to form Hendrix-Henderson College in 1929 and with merger with Galloway Women's College, shortened name to Hendrix College http://www.hendrix.edu/AboutHendrix/history/19211930.htm
Songe, Alice H. American Universities and Colleges: A Dictionary of Name Changes. 1978.
Henderson State Teachers College Arkadelphia Arkansas 1929
state supported name change to Henderson State College in 1967 and to Henderson State University in 1975 http://www.hsu.edu/content.aspx?id=1501
Jonesboro Baptist College Jonesboro Arkansas 1936
Baptist remained open only a couple of years wbc2.wbcoll.edu/history.htm
Judson University Judsonia Arkansas 1871
Little Rock Female College Little Rock Arkansas
http://www-english.tamu.edu/dept/lewis/
Little Rock Junior College Little Rock Arkansas 1927 1957 public classes offered in Little Rock High School at Fourteenth and Park, now Central High School; citing inadequate finances, the School Board divested itself of the program to a private board of trustees, later becaming Little Rock University in 1957 and then merging with University of Arkansas to become University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1969. Founder, John A. Larson, served as president from 1930-1950. Songe, Alice H. American Universities and Colleges: A Dictionary of Name Changes. 1978.
www.ualr.edu/~anniversary/history.html
Mississippi County Community College Blytheville Arkansas 1975
public name changed to Arksansas Northeastern College July 2003 following merger with Cotton Boll Technical Institute (founded in 1966 in Burdette) http://www.ncahlc.org/index.php?option=com_directory&Itemid=192
http://www.anc.edu
Monea College Rector Arkansas 1915
Cummins, D. Duane. The Disciples Colleges: A History. 1987.
Morrilton Male and Female College Morrilton Arkansas 1890
East Church Street; Thomas P. Murray and W.B. Trow were joint principals beginning in 1890 http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ar/conway/bios/bios-m.txt
Mount Saint Mary's College
Arkansas
Sisters of Mary
Schier and Russett. Catholic Women's Colleges in America. 2002.
Mount Vernon Normal College Pea Ridge Arkansas
see entry for Pea Ridge College www.nwaonline.net/pdfarchive/2000/June/19/6-19-00%20A3.pdf
Mountain Home Baptist College Mountain Home Arkansas 1892
www.rootsweb.com/~armarion/marioncohistory/22Yellville.htm
Nazareth University Corinth Arkansas 1896
Cummins, D. Duane. The Disciples Colleges: A History. 1987.
North Arkansas Community College Harrison Arkansas 1974
state supported joined with Twin Lakes Technical College in 1993 and name changed to North Arkansas Community / Technical College; name changed to North Arkansas College in July 1997 http://www.northark.edu/
Oil Belt Technical College El Dorado Arkansas 1967
state supported founded as Oil Belt Vocational-Technical School; name change to Oil Belt Technical College in 1991; joined with Southern Arkansas University-El Dorado Branch in 1992 to form South Arkansas Community College http://www.southark.edu/campus-info/dynpage.asp?pageID=839
Ouachita Baptist College Arkadelphia Arkansas
now Ouachita Baptist University Brenner, Morgan G. The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories. 2003.
Ouachita College Camden Arkansas 1857
Burke also lists a possible location of Tulip, Arkansas Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.
Ozark Bible College Ozark Arkansas 1947
changed name in 1976 to Citadel Bible College and in 1987 merged with Calvary Bible College in Kansas City www.calvary.edu/seminary/sem_about/sem_about_body.html
Ozark Christian College St. Joe Arkansas 1938 1940
different institution from the current Ozark Christian College in Joplin that is a successor to Ozark Bible College and Midwest Christian College www.occ.edu/aboutocc/history.htm
Parrish College Paragould Arkansas
Pea Ridge College Pea Ridge Arkansas 1874 1930
also known as Pea Ridge Masonic College and Mount Vernon Normal College; Cummins gives 1889 as date of founding; Burke gives 1853 as date for founding www.uark.edu/libinfo/speccoll/wmhughesaid.html
Cummins, D. Duane. The Disciples Colleges: A History. 1987.
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.
Petit Jean Technical College Morrilton Arkansas 1961
state supported founded as Petit Jean Vocational-Technical School; became Petit Jean Technical College in 1991; name change to Petit Jean College in 1997; became University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton in 2001 after joining the University of Arkansas system http://www.uaccm.edu/About_UACCM/College_History.htm
Pines Technical College Pine Bluff Arkansas 1959
state supported founded as Pines Vocational-Technical School; became Pines Technical College in 1991; name change to Southeast Arkansas Technical College in 1996 and to Southeast Arkansas College in 1998 http://www.seark.edu
Phillips County Community College Helena Arkansas 1965
state supported joined with Rice Belt Technical Institute in DeWitt and became part of the University of Arkansas system as Phillips Community College of The University of Arkansas in 1996 http://www.pccua.edu/about_us.htm
Quitman Male & Female College Quitman Arkansas 1871
Methodist Episcopal
see Lorene Houston, "Oldest College at Quitman," Cleburne County Historical Quarterly (Fall 1974), p. [18]; Walter N. Vernon, Methodism in Arkansas 1816-1976 (Little Rock: Joint Committee for the History of Arkansas Methodism 1977), p. 144.
Red River Technical College Hope Arkansas 1965
state supported founded as Red River Vocational-Technical School; became Red River
Technical College in 1991; joined University of Arkansas system in 1996 as University of Arkansas Community College at Hope http://www.uacch.edu
Remington College Little Rock Arkansas
1998
The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 14, 2002
Saint Andrew's College Fort Smith Arkansas 1840's
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982
Saint John's Masonic College Little Rock Arkansas 1850
http://www.huntsville364.org/history.htm
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.
Searcy Male and Female College Searcy Arkansas 1883 1898
following 1898 commencement name was changed to Speers-Langford Military Institute that closed following a fire in 1900 http://www.whitecountyar.org/searcycollege.htm
Soulesbury College Batesville Arkansas 1850
http://fly.hiwaay.net/~dmglenn/april76.htm
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.
Southern Baptist College Pocahontas, Walnut Ridge Arkansas 1941
Baptist now Williams Baptist College, name changed in 1991 http://wbc2.wbcoll.edu/newwbc/Admissions/admfcts.htm
http://wbc2.wbcoll.edu/history.htm
Hunt and Carper, eds. Religious Higher Education in the United States. 1996.
Southland College Helena Arkansas 1869 1925 Friends started in 1864 as home for African American children; normal course added in 1869; assumed name of Southland College in 1876 http://www.uark.edu/libinfo/speccoll/southland.html
Southwest Technical Institute Camden Arkansas 1967
state supported State Board of Education operated the school until 1975 when it became part of Southern Arkansas University; name change to Southern Arkansas University Tech in 1978 http://www.sautech.edu/SAUT_history.html
Springfield College Springfield Arkansas
Thomas P. Murray and W. B. Trow were joint principals from 1888-1890 when they became joint principals of Morrilton Male and Female College http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ar/conway/bios/bios-m.txt
State Agricultural & Mechanical College: Third District Magnolia Arkansas 1909
state supported name change to Southern State College in 1951 and to Southern Arkansas University in 1976 Brenner, Morgan G. The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories. 2003.
Stuttgart College Stuttgart Arkansas b1898
www.uark.edu/depts/speccoll/findingaids/core/series2.html
Subiaco College Subiaco Arkansas b1892 a1934
www.subi.org/history.htm
University of Little Rock Little Rock Arkansas 1957 1969
successor to Little Rock Junior College; merged with University of Arkansas in 1969 to become University of Arkansas at Little Rock www.ualr.edu/~anniversary/lru.html
Woodland Baptist College Jonesboro Arkansas 1902 1911
wbc2.wbcoll.edu/history.htm
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