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'Arkansas State University' (also known as "'A-State'" or "'ASU'") is a public university and is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System, the state's second largest college system. It is located atop 800 acres on Crowley's Ridge at Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA.

Contents

Campuses

History

Degree Programs

The ASU System

Athletics

Fight Song

Alma Mater

Alumni

Greek Life

Sororities

Fraternities

References

External links

Campuses

★ Main campus, Jonesboro, Arkansas

★ Arkansas State University Beebe and Arkansas State Technical Institute

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★ Arkansas State University Searcy, a technical campus of ASU-Beebe

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★ Arkansas State University Heber Springs, a technical campus of ASU-Beebe

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★ Arkansas State University Little Rock Air Force Base, a degree center of ASU-Beebe

★ Arkansas State University Mountain Home

★ Arkansas State University Newport

★ Arkansas State University Technical Center, Marked Tree campus and Jonesboro campus

★ Arkansas State University Paragould, an instructional site of the Jonesboro campus

History

ASU was founded in Jonesboro in 1909 by the Arkansas Legislature as a regional agricultural training school. It began offering a two-year college program in 1918, then became First District Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1925. A four-year degree program was begun in 1930, then A & M College became Arkansas State College in 1933. The Arkansas Legislature elevated the college to university status and changed the name to "Arkansas State University" in 1967.

Degree Programs

Master's degree graduate programs were initiated in 1955, and ASU began offering its first doctoral degree, in educational leadership, in the fall of 1992. A second doctoral program, in environmental science, was begun in the fall of 1997, and the doctoral program in heritage studies began in the fall of 2001. The doctoral program in the biomedical sciences kicked off in fall 2005.
Today, the institution has more than 55,000 alumni. Programs at the specialist's, master's, bachelor's and associate's degree levels are available through the various colleges: Agriculture, Business, Communications, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Nursing and Health Professions, Sciences and Mathematics, and University College.

The ASU System

The ASU system includes campuses in Jonesboro (Craighead County), which offers degree programs through the doctoral level; Beebe (White County), Mountain Home (Baxter County), and Newport (Jackson County), where associate degree programs are offered; and at Heber Springs, Marked Tree, and Searcy. Arkansas State University-Beebe became part of the ASU system in 1955. It associated with White River Vo-Tech at Newport in 1992; that campus has attained stand-alone status and is now Arkansas State University-Newport. The Mountain Home campus officially became ASU-Mountain Home on July 1, 1995. Delta Technical Institute at Marked Tree merged with ASU and became Arkansas State University Technical Center on July 1, 2001. A new campus is being built for ASU-Heber Springs, which operates as a sister campus of ASU-Beebe. Foothills Technical Institute at Searcy was merged with ASU-Beebe on July 1, 2003, and is now ASU-Searcy, a technical institute of ASU-Beebe.
ASU offers bachelor's degree programs, master's degree programs and upper level courses through ASU degree centers at ASU-Beebe, ASU-Mountain Home, and three other cities -- Blytheville, Forrest City, and West Memphis -- where partnership agreements have been established in cooperation with the local community colleges. ASU also operates an instructional site at nearby Paragould in Greene County.
ASU has grown rapidly over the past 20 years. Current enrollment for the Jonesboro campus stands at about 12,000, and the system has an enrollment of greater than 17,000.

Athletics

Main articles: Arkansas State Indians

Fight Song

On, on, on to Victory!
Brave team you're second to none
Let's make this game history
Along with the others you've won!
Fight! Fight! Fight!
With all your might
So that the world may see
That I-N-D-I-A-N-S means Victory! (State!)

Alma Mater

Our Alma Mater ASU
Your hallowed halls shall ring
With praise by daughter and noble son
Who proudly stand and sing
Mem'ries of your stirring glory
And of youthful friends we knew
The red and black shall ever wave
On high for ASU

Alumni

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Well-known alumni of Arkansas State University include:

★ Larry P. Arnn- President, Hillsdale College

★ Mike Beebe - Governor of Arkansas

★ Earl Bell - Olympic bronze medal pole vaulter and former world record holder

★ Bill Bergey - NFL star linebacker

★ Ray Brown- retired veteran NFL offensive lineman

★ Rodger Bumpass- comedian and voice of Squidward on the popular TV show "Spongebob Squarepants"

★ Carlos Emmons- NFL linebacker who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and the New York Giants

★ Maurice Carthon - NFL/USFL player and NFL coach

★ Brad Franchione - college football coach

★ Jeff Hartwig - US record holding pole vaulter

★ Thomas Hill - Olympic silver medalist in 110-meter hurdles in 1972

★ Ken Jones - 12 year NFL offensive lineman, primarily with the Buffalo Bills

★ Al Joyner - Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump

★ Cleo Lemon - quarterback for Miami Dolphins

★ Jerry Mooney ('75) - Memphis entrepreneur, former President of VHA Long Term Care and former board member of Servicemaster

★ Major General Bobby Porter - former commanding general of US Army's 82nd Airborne Division

★ Major General James Simmons - a current deputy commander of the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq

★ Major General Eugene Stillions - former commanding general of Army's Fort Lee, Virginia

★ Kellie Suttle - two time Olympic pole vaulter and silver medalist at 2001 World Indoor Championships and 1999 Pan American Games

★ Charley Thornton - sports figure

★ Debbye Turner - Miss America, 1990

★ Corey Williams- defensive tackle for Green Bay Packers

★ Miller Williams - contemporary poet

Greek Life

Approximately 15% of ASU's students are members of one of the 21 Greek organizations located on the campus. Most other student organizations, including the Student Government Association, the Student Activities Board, and the Student Orientation Staff, are led by and comprised of mainly Greek students. Many in these groups are dedicated to academics and community service. Also of interest, the cumulative Greek GPA is consistently higher than the overall average ASU GPA. The organizations also devote thousands of man-hours and dollars to local charities each year.

Sororities

★ Alpha Gamma Delta 1948

★ Alpha Kappa Alpha

★ Alpha Omicron Pi 1949

★ Chi Omega 1961

★ Delta Sigma Theta (suspended since 2006)

★ Delta Zeta 1991

★ Kappa Delta 1968

★ Phi Mu 1951 (closed since 2007)

★ Sigma Gamma Rho

★ Zeta Phi Beta

★ Zeta Tau Alpha 1968 (closed since 1991)

Fraternities

★ Alpha Gamma Rho 1969

★ Alpha Phi Alpha

★ Alpha Tau Omega 1968

★ Kappa Alpha Order

★ Kappa Alpha Psi (suspended in 2007)

★ Lambda Chi Alpha 1959

★ Phi Beta Sigma (suspended in 2006)

★ Pi Kappa Alpha 1948

★ Phi Mu Alpha 1968

★ Omega Psi Phi

★ Sigma Chi 1987

★ Sigma Phi Epsilon (closed in 2001)

★ Sigma Pi 1948

★ Tau Kappa Epsilon 1949

References

1. http://asunews.astate.edu/about.htm

External links

★ Arkansas State University

★ Dean B. Ellis Library

★ ASU Athletics

★ ASU Museum

★ KASU

★ The Herald

★ ASU-TV

★ A-State Baptist Collegiate Ministry

★ Arkansas State University Rugby Club, first university in the United States to offer rugby scholarships