University of Arkansas

School mission (as provided by the school):

Starting on Old Main's front step with the Class of 1876, the names of over 125,000 University of Arkansas graduates have been chiseled into campus walkways, grouped by year of graduation. Covering more than five miles of university sidewalks, this one-of-a-kind tribute to its alumni underscores the U of A's "Students First!" philosophy. Today, the University of Arkansas is a nationally competitive, student-centered research university that recently completed a successful $1 billion capital campaign. The campaign received a major boost from a historic $300 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. This largest-ever gift to a public university established the Honors College, whose students benefit from the nation's largest endowment for undergraduate research and study abroad at a public university. Each year the Honors College awards up to 90 freshman fellowships that provide $50,000 over four years, and from $500,000 to $1 million in undergraduate grants. Honors programs are offered in all disciplines, tailored to students' academic interests, with interdisciplinary collaborations encouraged. Thanks to the 6:1 ratio of honors students to honors faculty, Honors College students enjoy multiple opportunities to explore substantive questions with the university's most research-active professors. One hundred percent of Honors College graduates have engaged in mentored undergraduate research. Honors College students who applied to medical schools this year had a 100 percent acceptance rate. The $300 million gift also endowed graduate fellowships. In recent years, University of Arkansas students have won a substantial number of nationally and internationally prestigious scholarships, awards and fellowships, including: two Gates Cambridge Scholarships, one Rhodes Scholarship, five James Madison Scholarships, five British Marshall Scholarships, 44 J. William Fulbright Scholarships, eight David L. Boren Scholarships, 11 Freeman in Asia Scholarships, 32 Gilman Scholarships, 11 Harry S. Truman Scholarships, 50 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, 45 Goldwater Scholarships, five Udall Scholarships, and 14 USA Today All-College Academic Team selections, among many others. These honors provide significant financial support to the university's students: in 2010 alone, they received more than $2.4 million in awards and scholarships. Since its founding, the University of Arkansas has compiled a remarkable record of scientific, technological, intellectual and creative accomplishment. This accomplishment is exemplified by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright, a Rhodes Scholar as a student and eventual president of the university (1939-41).As a member of the U.S. Senate, in 1946 Fulbright authored what became known as the Fulbright Program, the highly competitive, merit-based international educational exchange program for scholars, students, educators, artists and professionals.