watsonArkansas Tech University is just beginning its second centennial of educational excellence. What began as the Second District Agricultural School in 1909 has evolved into a comprehensive, regional, state supported SREB level four institution, with advancement to level three expected soon.  The past 15 years have shown dramatic changes at Tech.  In 1995 we enrolled 4593 students; in 2010 we enrolled 9813.  We have also more than doubled degree production, from 779 degrees in 1994-95 to 1,667 in 2009-10.  This growth has not come at the expense of quality programs.  Besides the regional institutional accreditation of the Higher Learning Commission, Tech possesses fifteen program accreditations.  What does the second centennial hold for Tech?  We will continue to provide quality education to our base of Arkansas students while seeking to expand online offerings, and increase graduate student and international student enrollment.  We are also seeking to offer our first doctoral degree with two more distinct possibilities in the near future. 

As our mission states, Arkansas Tech is “dedicated to nurturing scholastic development, integrity, and professionalism” and we offer “a wide range of traditional and innovative programs which provide a solid educational foundation for life-long learning to a diverse community of learners.”  With the excellent faculty we have I know that Tech can fulfill this mission and will continue to be an institution of significance as we begin our second centennial of service to our constituents. 

If you have any questions or suggestions about this or any other page on the Academic Affairs website, please contact me.

John Watson, EdD
Professor of Mathematics
Vice-president for Academic Affairs
jwwatson@atu.edu; 479-968-0319

©