University of the Ozarks history

The college closes in May of 1861 as President Earle and most of the all-male student body join the Confederate army.

In 1875, the university became the first institution of higher education in Arkansas to admit women.

University of the Ozarks traces its roots back to 1834, making it the oldest university in Arkansas and one of the oldest institutions of higher education west of the Mississippi River. Its successor, Arkansas Cumberland College, opened in Clarksville in September 1891.

In 1905, James Forsythe, a Presbyterian missionary, expressed this dream to the Missouri Synod of the Presbyterian Church when he wrote:

In 1933, the (then) Raymond Munger Memorial Chapel was completed with the help of 50 students.

In 1946, the university housed the state's first pharmacy school.

In 1957, Ozarks is the first traditionally white college in Arkansas to admit African American students.

In 1963 Ozarks athlete Sylvester Benson became the first African-American to compete in the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference.

The program, which began as Arkansas Cumberland, was eventually discontinued following the 1965 season.

The years after 1967, when the last secondary school class and the first college class graduated, were a time of great expansion.

In 1971, two years before the Federal Rehabilitation Act was passed, Ozarks establishes the first program in the country designed specifically to help students with learning disabilities at the college level – The Jones Learning Center.

In 1975, Helen Walton was elected to the Board of Trustees and served on the Board for more than 20 years.

Sam and Helen Walton establish the Walton International Scholarship Program in 1985 to promote free enterprise and democracy.

The first Walton class arrives on campus that fall and the first graduate in 1987.

In 1994, the Missouri Department of Education awarded C of O a “#1” ranking-the only such ranking ever given by the Department-in recognition of the College’s commitment to Mission.

In 1996, campus sees major changes through the $19 million Bridging the Centuries Campaign: enclosed quad, new fountain, Robson Library, and Boreham Business Building.

Founded in 1997, The Keeter Center for Character Education at College of the Ozarks was created to provide programs and activities to enhance the development of character and good citizenship.

In 1998, U of O received the largest single monetary donation ever made to a private university in Arkansas - $39.5 million from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.

In 2011, $40 million Promise of Excellence Campaign secured the Rogers Conference Center, Mabee Fitness Center and Trustee Residence Hall.

In 2012, the College reopened School of the Ozarks, a laboratory high school grades 9-12.

During the 2014-15 year, the Raymond Munger Memorial Chapel underwent a $2 Million renovation thanks to a gift from Mrs.

In 2016, University of the Ozarks received a $10 million gift from the Walton Family Foundation establishing an endowed scholarship program to assist promising students from low and middle-income families.