Talk:University of Arkansas

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University of Arkansas is a former featured article candidate. Please view the links under Article milestones below to see why the nomination failed. For older candidates, please check the archive.
February 9, 2006 Featured article candidate Not promoted
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This article is part of WikiProject Arkansas, a WikiProject related to the U.S. state of Arkansas.
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Contents

[edit] older comments

A new survey has been created to assess consensus with respect to university naming conventions, specifically regarding the usage of terms like "University of Texas" vs. "University of Texas at Austin". The poll addresses this issue both in the specific case of the "University of Maryland" and proposes an amendment to Wikipedia:Naming conventions which could impact a large number of additional pages, including this one. Dragons flight 17:47, Mar 27, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Arkansas A&M?

I'm researching a reference made to an "Arkansas A&M". Am I in the right place? Ëvilphoenix Burn! 20:57, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

  • There is no Arkansas A&M that I know of, this is the U of A. There is a Texas A&M --The_stuart 21:33, 20 October 2005 (UTC)
I think that Arkansas A&M is the old name for University of Arkansas at Monticello, if I'm not mistaken! InvictaHOG 03:42, 22 October 2005 (UTC)
Yes, Arkansas A&M is indeed the old name of University of Arkansas at Monticello. Wikipedia Link University Link Cardsplayer4life 07:39, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

You may be trying to find Arkansas Agricultural Mechanical and Normal School (A. M. & N.) the old name for what is now University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

[edit] Removed text copied verbatim from university website

The entire "history" section was a verbatim copy from

http://www.uark.edu/rd_vcad/urel/publications/profile/2003/525.htm

and as such as a copyright violation. I have removed it; please do not reinsert it. Dpbsmith (talk) 21:52, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Added a new history section created from scratch. (Cardsplayer4life 19:31, 6 February 2006 (UTC))
As far as I'm concerned, it's not a copyright violation any more, so you fixed the problem, but personally I'd call it a "paraphrase" of the university's website, not "created from scratch." Dpbsmith (talk) 22:00, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
P. S. If you happen to be at the University of Arkansas, or for that matter at any big university, it might not be too hard to get your hands on a copy of Reynolds, John Hugh and Davis Yancey Thomas (1910), "History of the University of Arkansas," University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, 1910. Used book dealers at www.abebooks.com seem to want $35 and $40 for a used copy, too bad, that's too pricey for casual curiosity... Dpbsmith (talk) 23:47, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
Cool, sorry I should not have used the word "scratch", I meant I typed it all, but yes I did use the other one as a reference since it is all factual info. I added a bit more to it now, as well as some other edits. (Cardsplayer4life 03:35, 7 February 2006 (UTC))
Good, keep it up, Go Razorbacks etc. Dpbsmith (talk) 11:46, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Current article

The University of Arkansas was founded in 1871, on the site of a former hilltop farm that overlooked the Ozark Mountains (giving it the nickname "The Hill"). The University is considered to be the "state's flagship institution of higher education." [1]

The University was established under the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862. The University’s founding also satisfied the provision in the Arkansas Constitution of 1868 that the General Assembly was to "establish and maintain a State University."

Initially, to found the University, $130,000 was raised (by the citizens of Washington County). This was in response to the competition created by the Arkansas General Assembly’s Organic Act of 1871, providing for the "location, organization and maintenance of the Arkansas Industrial University with a normal department [i.e., teacher education] therein."

Completed in 1875, Old Main building is a twin-towered brick building that is an official state landmark. It housed the first classes taught at the university. Today, it contains the restored Giffels Auditorium and historic displays, as well as the administrative offices of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences.

Beginning with the class of 1876, the University of Arkansas "Senior Walk" progresses throughout the entire campus, and is one of a kind nationally. The sidewalks of the university bear the engraved names of everyone who has ever graduated (with any type of degree) from the University.

University website

The University of Arkansas, the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System, rests on a former hilltop farm overlooking the Ozark Mountains to the south. At the University's founding in 1871, the site in Fayetteville was described as "second to none in the state of Arkansas."

Located in Fayetteville, the U of A is both the major land-grant university for Arkansas and the state university. The University came into being under the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862, through which federal land sales provided funds for new colleges devoted to "agriculture and the mechanic arts," "scientific and classical studies," and "military tactics" for the "liberal and practical education of the industrial classes." The University's founding satisfied the provision in the Arkansas Constitution of 1868 that the General Assembly "establish and maintain a State University."

Citizens in Fayetteville and surrounding Washington County raised $130,000 to secure the University in a statewide competition sparked by the General Assembly's Organic Act of 1871, providing for the "location, organization and maintenance of the Arkansas Industrial University with a normal department [i.e., teacher education] therein."

[edit] Inconsistancies/difficulties with known facts

Primarily, the problem of the article I found resides in the History and Founding section of the article on the University of Arkansas. The statement that "The University is both the major land-grant university for Arkansas and the state university" is both somewhat opinionated, as far as the part of the university being the "major land-grant university," and patently untrue, as far as being "the state university". Arkansas does not have a single, unified university system. Articles in the Wikipedia prove the non-unified nature of the Arkansas state (read public) universities, when considering Arkansas State University, Southern Arkansas University, University of Central Arkansas, and Henderson State University. These four institutions are all state-supported institutions, but they are also not University of Arkansas System universities.

There is ambiguity on the relationship between The University of Arkansas (at Fayetteville) with the university now known as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Yes, U of A is the oldest land-grant institution in Arkansas, but not the only one, and it was created under the Morrill Act of 1864. And yes, at the inception of Branch Normal College in 1873 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, it was an extension of the Normal Department of the Arkansas Industrial University (AIU). But it seems to be inferred that Branch Normal College split away from then AIU to become Arkansas AM&N circa 1875, and later became a land-grant institution under the Morrill Act of 1890. The information is hard to find from other online sources, as even the history page that UAPB's site (http://www.uapb.edu/history/milestones.html) does not make mention of an independent board for the school until 1927. The fact that the institution was made a land-grant institution under the Morrill Act of 1890 illuminates that there are two land-grant institutions in Arkansas, and should underscore the socio-econmic and cultural difficulties that had to have been encountered by a predominantly 'white' institution, the then AIU, administering a predominantly 'black' school, which was Branch Normal College, in the Southern United States between the years of the end of the Civil War to the beginning of the Civil Rights era in the 1960's because the two entities were not created at the same time by the same Act of Congress.

The use of the word 'major' in the opening statement of the history and founding section of the University of Arkansas is thus somewhat polarizing, obliquely suggesting that the second land-grant institution in Arkansas has failed to produce graduates of such important note as has been produced in the U of Arkansas' history. A better word to replace 'major' would be 'oldest' - as it's a objectively true fact, versus the subjectively true, or opinionated, fact of the U of A being the "major land-grant institution in Arkansas". Even the phrase "flagship university of the UA System" would be preferable, as it is the first and oldest university in the University of Arkansas System.

Arkansas AM&N did join (or rejoin) the U of A System in 1972, but, the U of A System did not exist before 1911, per se, as documented at http://www.uasys.edu/about.html. The U of A System appears to have been created as a tool for the administering of the non-profit Medical Sciences School in Little Rock by the University of Arkansas. It is conjecture to think that this tool was a result of lessons learned with administering Branch Normal College back in the time period between 1873 to 1927, but perhaps it may not be unreasonable to pose the conjecture, considering the racial tensions of the times.

All that said, the State of Arkansas placed the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Every other institution in Arkansas is either a satellite, or a junior institution.


I believe I was able to address and fix all of your concerns. (Cardsplayer4life 19:16, 6 February 2006 (UTC))
Yes, I think you have. Thanks.
(There are a few mechanical dotting-i's-crossing-t's that need to be cleaned up with e.g. the hog call ref not matching up with any note and so forth... I always find that a royal pain and quite difficult to get right myself...) Dpbsmith (talk) 22:02, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Minor Old Main Issues

I included information that classes were still held in Old Main, as it wasn't readily apparent in the current information. Having indulged myself in a recent history of the school, I'm quite sure that the first classes were held in the old McIlroy farm house, before Old Main was constructed. So the statement, "first held" was not accurate. I do plan to come back shortly, with the book in hand, so I can expand the history section of the school. RebelAt 06:19, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Terrific, thanks for the input. (Cardsplayer4life 21:51, 9 February 2006 (UTC))


[edit] Flagship Campus

This campus (the one located in Fayetteville, Arkansas) is considered to be the main (or flagship) campus of the University of Arkansas system, and I therefore feel justified in making the changes associated with that status. Here are a few references, I can provide more if needbe. [2] [3] [4] [5] (Cardsplayer4life 17:41, 15 May 2006 (UTC))

[edit] Fan Message Boards

The moderators are deleting fan sites in external links as spam. Please comment as to whether or not you believe fan sites hould be allowed as external links. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ermackey3 (talk • contribs)

Your link is clearly violative of WP:SPAM and WP:EL, particularly because you're mass-adding it. --Nlu (talk) 02:00, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
Moderators and posters on rival message boards are deleting and adding links in some sort of flame war. If they can't be adults, delete them all. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.178.80.219 (talk) 02:39, 15 January 2007 (UTC).
you must be work for AD for life if you are deleting the people's message boards.Don't be afraid of the truth.

I mass-added it because we cover all sports teams in Arkansas - including the University of Arkansas. I added it to every team we cover IN ARKANSAS ONLY. You are being biased by defining a rule that fan sites are spam and then changing the justification. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ermackey3 (talk • contribs)

Whether you agree or not, Wikipedia rules are rules. If you don't want to play by them, you'll be blocked indefinitely. --Nlu (talk) 18:48, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

We are only talking here. No need for threats. Your initial justification for deleting my link was that the site I added was spam. Now that you have been notified that other fan sites have been listed, you justify the deletion due to frequency. This means that the content was ok. Therefore, since the content is ok and I have notified you that the frequency of my link posting was because we are a fan board for multiple Arkansas teams can we repost the link or do I need to start arbitration?

[edit] Notable Alumni

Scott Fendley was added under the "Notable Alumni" section on 4/29/2006 at 03:58 from IP address 70.178.185.53 (hostname: ip70-178-185-53.ks.ks.cox.net). This IP address has the following information associated with it:

Cox Communications Inc. NETBLK-COX-ATLANTA-10 (NET-70-160-0-0-1) 
                                  70.160.0.0 - 70.191.255.255
Cox Communications NETBLK-WI-RDC-70-178-0-0 (NET-70-178-0-0-1) 
                                  70.178.0.0 - 70.178.255.255

Scott Fendley was removed from the "Notable Alumni" section on 9/6/2006 at 09:46 (a reign of almost 5 months) by registered user Tomkeene with no comment.

As someone who knows Scott, I can attest that he is not a "Notable Alumnus" any more than the other graduates of his class, and I agree with his removal. This addition to the Talk page simply serves to document the incident, since the edit logs don't show any comments.

This is the information added by the user from 70.178.185.53:

[[Scott Fendley]] -- IT security researcher and incident handler of the [[Internet Storm Center]]

There was also a disingenuous Scott Fendley article which has since been removed. Can you say self-aggrandizement?

[edit] Error in Name of Alumnus

There seems to be an error in this citation of a very distinguished alumnus. I believe his name is actually Loy Edgar Barton.

In the 1920s, Loy Barnett, an engineering graduate student at the University of Arkansas, set forth the principle of high-level Class B plate modulation for radio transmission and developed the technology that allowed small- and medium-size AM radio stations to flourish across the United States. Barnett later joined RCA and continued research on broadcast technology into the 1960s.

To not have this correct in such a location as this, adds insult to a brilliant but humble man who has never received due recognition for his accomplishments. Please consult this link, Loy Barton, a Forgotten Radio Pioneer at [6] Though I signed on operator logs of KUOA at the JBU location in 1953-54, I suggest that one of the regular editors here make the actual correction and possibly an amplification. Obee1 (talk) 19:58, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fightin' Texas Aggie Band

There is a quote over at Fightin' Texas Aggie Band#Modernization and expansion and Talk:Fightin' Texas Aggie Band#NPOV tag that is a bit disparaging to this University's band. Can someone here verify its accuracy?

Specifically: "In 1975, at a televised game versus the University of Arkansas, the Aggie Band was repeatedly asked to play music during lulls in the game. By the fourth quarter, the Aggie Band had played on TV during every break and Colonel Haney, trying his best to be fair, told the cameraman that they really should let the Razorback Band play a little too. The cameraman called up to the broadcast booth to get guidance and then replied, "The director doesn't want to hear the Arkansas band, he wants to hear the Aggie Band."[1] The only reference is an aggie publication. ThreeE 20:13, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Hmm, never heard that before. Sounds highly suspect to me. Cardsplayer4life 10:09, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
  1. Do you honestly think you are going to find someone who remembers that game and was sitting close enough to the band to hear this?
  2. This question is in violation of the talk page guidelines and should be removed. — BQZip01 — talk 13:54, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
Lets not drag your and ThreeE's conflict over here, shall we? As ThreeE is simply seeking out if someone can verify or disclaim a fact that those who pay attention to the University of Arkansas' article might know, I see nothing wrong with the post. As Arkansas is particular to the question at hand, it sounds entirely reasonable. I am tempted to contact the head of the Arkansas band department and see if they can offer any insight. That said, as a Razorback, I'm not too insulted when a director, whose probably a Texan, makes a defamatory remark towards Arkansas. No one wants to hear another state's band play better than your own. [totally unsubstantiated claim]. :) ~ (The Rebel At) ~ 22:40, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
Fair 'nuff. I was just trying to keep the discussion over there. If you guys want to assist, then, by all means, hope to hear from you soon. — BQZip01 — talk 05:41, 22 September 2007 (UTC)