Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

A newsletter for faculty, staff and students

January-February 2005 • Vol. 31, No. 1

Bumpers College roots developed in 19th century

The foundation of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences was established when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862, which led to the founding of the University of Arkansas (Arkansas Industrial University) in 1872.

The land-grant college mandate was to develop university programs in agriculture and mechanic arts in addition to the customary curriculum of the classics, basic sciences and military arts. The idea was to focus higher education – through teaching, research and service – on development of the nation’s primary economic sectors.

Complying with the land-grant college mandate in 1872 was no easy task. The body of knowledge for agriculture as a science or an academic discipline was rudimentary, at best. The idea of going to college to learn about farming was a strange concept. But courses were developed, and by 1886 a research farm was established. Bulletin No. 1, a research progress report, was published in 1886 by the Department of Agriculture and Horticulture.

The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, established in 1887, provided faculty and a body of science that instructors could draw on to develop an agricultural science curriculum.

The University administration was under considerable pressure from the public, which consisted primarily of farmers; the business community and the Arkansas Gazette newspaper to begin producing graduates with degrees in agriculture.

Enrollment in agriculture courses slowly increased. Hugh Ellis Morrow of Fayetteville, one of 31 graduates in the Class of 1904, was the first to receive the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree. At that time, agriculture classes were provided by the two departments of Agriculture and Horticulture.

The College of Agriculture was finally established in 1905. W.G. Vincenheller, director of the Experiment Station when the College was established, was the first dean.

The College was divided into seven departments with two professors and six instructors. All faculty members but one had concurrent positions with the Experiment Station. The departments of the College in 1905 were Agricultural Chemistry, Agronomy, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Husbandry, Entomology, Horticulture, and Veterinary Science.

The name was changed to College of Agriculture and Home Economics in 1954 and to Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences in 1995. The UA Board of Trustees renamed the College to honor Sen. Bumpers for his distinguished career of service as governor of Arkansas and United States senator. The College’s Department of Home Economics was renamed the School of Human Environmental Sciences in 1995 and remains a major part of the College.

The name of the College reflects the great diversity of the 15 academic majors now offered, and 17 minors within those majors. Our majors are:

(For the BSA degree)

Agricultural Business

Agricultural Education, Communication and Technology

Animal Science

Biological Engineering

Crop Management

Environmental, Soil, and Water Science

Food Science

Horticulture

Poultry Science

Turf and Landscape Horticulture

(For the BSHE and BID degrees)

Apparel Studies

Food, Human Nutrition and Hospitality

General Human Environmental Sciences

Human Development and Family Sciences

Interior Design