$1.7 million Hughes Hall renovation grant approved by ANCRC

Russellville-based Arkansas Tech University (ATU) has received a $1.7 million grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council (ANCRC) that will fund an interior and exterior renovation of Hughes Hall on the ATU campus in Russellville.

Once complete, the Hughes Hall renovations will allow personnel from the ATU Division of Administration and Finance to have office space in the building.

“Hughes Hall is an ideal solution because it allows us to achieve that goal while simultaneously preserving an historic building that is a big part of Arkansas Tech’s past and its future,” said Suzanne McCall, ATU vice president for administration and finance. “We are grateful to the ANCRC for its partnership and its commitment to ensuring that facilities such as Hughes Hall continue to serve the people of Arkansas.”

The building, completed in 1940 with funds — $34,473– from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), was initially an on-campus armory dormitory in conjunction with the Arkansas National Guard.

The Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees voted in October 1954 to name the armory dormitory, commonly referred to as the Rock Dormitory, as Hughes Hall. It was formally dedicated at Homecoming 1955 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 18, 1992.

The building’s namesake, Claude Hughes, served on the Arkansas Polytechnic College faculty from 1927-59 and was a leader in the university’s agricultural instruction. The Future Farmers of America chapter at ATU is named in honor of Hughes and Joseph W. Hull, who served as Arkansas Tech president from 1932-67.

Hughes Hall has had multiple purposes in its 85 years. After serving as a dormitory for many years, it was converted to a machine shop for the engineering program and it later provided shop space for the ATU physical plant. It was returned to service as a residence hall in 2009 following an early 21st century enrollment boom at ATU.

McCall said the Hughes Hall renovation will begin on Oct. 1, and the project is expected to be complete by Aug. 31, 2026.