Arkansas State University is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".[7]
History
A-State was founded as the First District Agricultural School in Jonesboro in 1909 by the Arkansas Legislature as a regional agricultural training school. Robert W. Glover, a Missionary Baptist pastor who served in both houses of the Arkansas Legislature from Sheridan (1905–1912), introduced in 1909 the resolution calling for the establishment of four state agricultural colleges, including the future ASU.[8]
In 1918, ASU began offering a two-year college program. In 1925, it became First District Agricultural and Mechanical College. A four-year degree program was begun in 1930. A & M College became Arkansas State College in 1933. In 1967, the Arkansas Legislature elevated the college to university status and changed the name to Arkansas State University.
In the fall of 2014, A-State welcomed its most academically prepared freshman class. The result of several years of growing both admission standards and increasing on-campus housing, A-State's incoming first-year first-time student composite ACT was 23.9 with an average high school GPA of 3.47 (Current freshman ACTs are 20-26 and the average high school GPA is 3.7[9]). This was the third consecutive year of improvement for the ACT/GPA freshman classes for Arkansas State. The Arkansas State Honors College has grown 59% since 2009. The university also posted back-to-back high graduate counts in spring 2012 and spring 2013, producing the most graduates in a two-year period in school history.[citation needed] The university contains the largest library in the state of Arkansas, the Dean B. Ellis Library.[citation needed]
The university has more than 100,000 alumni and offers programs at the doctoral, specialist's, master's, bachelor's, and associate degree levels. They are organized into several colleges: Agriculture, Engineering & Technology, Business, Education & Behavioral Science, Liberal Arts & Communication, Nursing & Health Professions, Sciences & Mathematics, and Undergraduate Studies.
In 2018, Arkansas State was classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".[13][7] The university nevertheless maintains a focus on undergraduate instruction and small class sizes, with a student-faculty ratio of 16:1, ranked #76 in undergraduate teaching nationwide as of 2020[update].[14] The university is ranked #1013 (UniRank 2024-2025),[15] #1119 (SCImago Rankings 2018),[16] and #1645 (URAP Rankings 2020-2021) [17] in the global university rankings.
Master's degree graduate programs were initiated in 1955 and ASU began offering its first doctoral degree, in educational leadership, in the fall of 1992. A second doctoral program, in environmental science, was begun in the fall of 1997 and the doctoral program in heritage studies began in the fall of 2001. Newer doctoral programs are in environmental science, molecular biosciences, and physical therapy. In the fall of 2016, Arkansas State enrolled the first class of approximately 115 students to its branch of the New York Institute of Technology's medical school. The medical school is located on campus in the historic Wilson Hall.
A-State's journalism program reorganized into the College of Media and Communication for fall 2013. The College of Media and Communication is home to three student-led media outlets and a NPR affiliate radio station. The Herald, a weekly student newspaper, was founded in 1921 and has a circulation of 5,000. ASU-TV, a program under the Department of Radio-Television, gives students hands-on experience in the field of television broadcasting. Starting in fall 2013, an Internet-based student radio station, Red Wolf Radio, was added to the student media. Arkansas State is also home to KASU, a 100,000-watt FM station, which is the oldest NPR affiliate west of the Mississippi River.
Centennial Bank Stadium (formerly known as Indian Stadium)
Arkansas State participates as a member of the NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference. The athletic teams, previously known as the Indians, are now known as the Red Wolves.
In 2012, the Red Wolves football team became Sun Belt Conference champions for a second straight year, finishing the regular season with a 9–3 record, and capped off its successful season with its first bowl game victory since becoming a Division I-A (FBS) program with a 17–13 victory over Kent State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl, as well as earning its first win over a ranked opponent since joining the FBS in 1992.
In 2013, the football team became the Sun Belt Conference champions for a third straight year, finishing with a 7–5 regular season record and won a second consecutive GoDaddy Bowl with a 23–20 victory over then 10-2 Ball State.
Michael John Gray (B.S. marketing) – former Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Woodruff County; a farmer with a law degree[38]
Dan A. Sullivan – Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Craighead and Greene counties since 2015; played basketball for ASU[68]
Dave Wallace (Class of 1970) – member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Mississippi County; inductee of the ASU Hall of Heroes for his military service in the Vietnam War[72]
This list is incomplete. Westside High School has a Jonesboro address but is outside the city limits. Westside School shooting is associated with the city but occurred outside of the city limits.
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