UA, Westark Mull Merger

If trustees at the University of Arkansas and Westark College in Fort Smith reach an agreement, Westark may become part of the eight-campus, statewide UA system as early as January, said B. Alan Sugg, president of the UA system.

On Nov. 5, the board of trustees at Westark authorized college President Joel R. Stubblefield to enter negotiations for the merger.

“It’s part of the University of Arkansas’ mission as a land-grant institution to serve education throughout the state of Arkansas,” Sugg said, adding that taking over Westark would make the UA system stronger.

The Westark board authorization came after a board meeting to review community surveys that indicated residents in the region wanted Westark to become a four-year school. The board unanimously adopted the resolution. The state Legislature gave Westark the authority to grant baccalaureate degrees four years ago. The school offers two-year and four-year degrees.

Westark has about 5,300 students enrolled for college credit. An additional 4,844 students attend noncredit courses in Westark’s College of Business and Industry. The UA campus in Fayetteville, by comparison, has about 14,000 students.

Westark has an annual budget of $35.5 million, with $17.3 million of that coming from state appropriations. The school has 126 full-time credit faculty and 35 full-time noncredit faculty.

Sugg said he didn’t believe the amount of state appropriations to Westark would change if it became part of the UA system.

Westark officials want to retain many of the college’s programs, including those pertaining to dental hygiene, health careers, athletics, business and industry education, outreach, manufacturing technology management, the Western Arkansas Technical Center and two-year degree programs.

Westark also wants to retain its endowment and have say over the local millage that the college receives from Sebastian County residents.

The UA was founded in Fayetteville in 1871. Two years later, the university opened its second campus, in Pine Bluff. That school left the system in 1927 to become Arkansas AM&N College but returned as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 1971. The UA opened a medical school in Little Rock in 1879 that is now the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Little Rock University became the University of Arkansas at Little Rock when it joined the UA system in 1969.

Other UA campuses are in Helena, Hope, Batesville and Monticello.