UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, FAYETTEVILLE
Role and Scope – Revised 2006
As a nationally competitive student-centered research university serving Arkansas and the world,
the University of Arkansas has identified five major institutional goals: strengthening academic
quality and reputation by enhancing and developing programs of excellence in teaching, learning,
research, and outreach; increasing the size and quality of the student body; enhancing diversity
among our faculty, students, and staff; increasing public financial support; and increasing private
gift support.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, (UAF) is the largest and oldest state institution of higher
education and the primary state and land-grant university in Arkansas, offering the state’s most
comprehensive array of undergraduate, professional, graduate, and honors programs. Through
these programs, students have the opportunity to participate in nationally competitive research, to
study abroad, and to work in business, industry, and other institutions through internships.
Courses and degree programs are offered by both traditional and technology-mediated instruction
to students at other campuses and sites in Arkansas and some military bases and at international
sites.
The UAF also provides a wide range of public- and economic development-related services
including—most especially—technical and professional services to further the economic growth of
Arkansas. In addition, UAF assists other institutions of public and higher education in Arkansas
by providing specialized resources, such as computing, library, and information technology
services and expertise in many disciplines. Public- and economic development-related services
are provided through the various academic departments, schools, and colleges and by
specialized units such as the Arkansas Leadership Academy, the Legal Clinic, the Small
Business Development Center, the Community Design Center, Genesis (the technology-based
business incubator), the Center for Arkansas and Regional Studies, the Division of Continuing
Education, and the Arkansas Research and Technology Park.
Recognized as a Carnegie Research University, the UAF is the only comprehensive research
university in Arkansas. Pursuit of research, scholarly and creative endeavors is a significant
responsibility of faculty members at the UAF, along with integrating original scholarship with
teaching and public service activities. Such integrated efforts are designed to advance the
frontiers of knowledge and to apply that knowledge to improve human understanding, advance
economic development and the standard of living and quality of life of people in Arkansas, the
nation, and the world. UAF research, scholarly and creative programs also play important roles in
graduate education and increasingly in undergraduate programs as well. Indeed, the integrated
scholarly activities of faculty members and staff are marks of overall instructional quality for
students at all levels and at locations around the world.
Research and scholarly efforts at the UAF are pursued by faculty members through the various
academic departments, schools, and colleges and through specialized units such as the Business
and Economic Research Center, the Mack Blackwell Rural Transportation Center, the High
Density Electronics Center, the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, the Center for Protein
Structure and Function, the Center for Semiconductor Physics in Nanostructures, and the
Institute of Food Science and Engineering. Campus centers and initiatives are evaluated
periodically in relation to their productivity and relevance to the economic development needs of
the state, with new centers added and current ones discontinued on the basis of performance.
The Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) recognizes and maintains the official
listing of degree programs offered by the University and the listing of institutional units of the
University. The lists may be viewed at the ADHE web site.