Agriculture as a Tradition
Agriculture has been a part of the mission of UAM from the beginning. Established as the Fourth District State Agricultural School in 1909, the early moniker was S.A.S.
The school offered classes in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and domestic science. Pictured is a stock judging class where students are learning to evaluate animals for farm duties. Also pictured are students working in the field. In the early days, there was no tuition but students worked to pay for their room and board. Much of the food eaten by students was grown or produced as a part of their classes.
Dairy farming was an important subject to learn about animal husbandry and to provide milk for the students to drink.
One of the major reasons the land three miles south of Monticello was chosen for the agricultural school was because it had once served as a farm. The 1910 catalog states ". . . one can view vast acres of virgin forests and alluvial fields . . . [and] a beautiful Sunny lake." The 1910 catalog also states that the land is " . . . surrounded . . . [by] thousands of acres planted in the leading cereals, forage, crops, cotton and fruits."
Frank Horsfall served as principal under Superintendent John Spence. From 1914 to 1927 and from 1927 to 1934, Frank Horsfall served as the chief executive officer, with the titles of Principal and later President.
Horsfall held a masters degree in horticulture from the University of Missouri at Columbia. Horticulture is the study of the art and science of growing plants. He taught many of the classes in the early years.
Frank Horsfall is credited with establishing the Boll Weevil as the mascot at the first Homecoming game in 1925.
The boll weevil is a small insect which made a big impact on agriculture, particularly the cotton industry, in the south in the early 1900s.
Horace Thompson served as president from 1949 to 1959. He also held a degree in agriculture from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
In 1925, the school became Arkansas Agricultural and Mechanical College. This 1959 sign depicting a cow and a draftsman shows that 50 years after the college was established, agriculture was still important.
The tradition of agriculture continues today. The current chancellor Dr. Karla Hughes holds a Ph.D. in agriculture with a major in animal science.