The Campus

Arkansas Tech University, with its spacious 516-acre campus, is located on the northern edge of the city of Russellville. This growing community, with a population of approximately 28,000, is ideally situated between the mountains of the Ozark National Forest to the north and those of the Ouachita National Forest to the south. It is midway between the state’s two largest population centers, Fort Smith, 85 miles to the west, and Little Rock, 75 miles to the east. Interstate Highway 40 passes just north of the campus and connects these two cities.

In addition, Russellville is the crossroads of activity for State Highways 7, 22, 64, and 124. The historic natural crossing of the Arkansas River at Dardanelle is four miles to the south. The navigable river forms a 36,600-acre lake with 315 miles of shoreline behind a lock and dam located just southwest of the city. The Union Pacific Railroad passes through the city and parallels the river between Little Rock and Fort Smith.

Russellville is the county seat of Pope County. Historic Dwight Mission, established by the American Board of Foreign Missions among the Cherokee in 1821, was located a short distance west of Arkansas Tech University on Illinois Bayou, where that stream is now crossed by Highway 64. Descendants of Cephas Washburn, the intrepid missionary who founded the mission and named it for Timothy Dwight of Yale, live in Russellville at the present time.

Arkansas Tech University is in the center of an area experiencing vigorous industrial development as evidenced by the growth of local industry and the number of national concerns locating plants in the area. Arkansas Nuclear One, the first nuclear power plant completed in the Southwest, and a second nuclear power unit have been constructed near Russellville by Entergy, thus assuring continued industrial growth. Headquarters for District 8 of the Arkansas Highway Department and for the Ozark – St. Francis National Forests are located in Russellville. The McClellan – Kerr Navigation Project is having a significant effect upon the development of the area. The impoundment of the Arkansas River has formed Lake Dardanelle which borders the west edge of the campus. Poultry, cattle, soybeans, cotton, and lumber are the principal money crops in the area served by Arkansas Tech University.

All instructional programs at Arkansas Tech University are taught in buildings which have been specifically designed or modified to complement the projected instructional tasks. The Corley Building, expanded in 2009, provides instructional space and state of the art laboratories for engineering, computer science, and mathematics.  McEver Hall, renovated and expanded in 2010, provides specialized classrooms and labs for Biological and Physical Sciences. Norman Hall, which was completed in 2007, houses the Department of Art and contains a gallery and specialized classrooms. Rothwell Hall houses Academic Advising, College of Business offices and classrooms, a trading room with a live Stock Market Ticker and Video Display Wall, and the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center. Rothwell Hall was not only completed in Arkansas Tech’s 100th year of operation (2009), but is also Tech’s 100th building. Construction of the Brown Building, named in honor of former Arkansas Tech University president Dr. Robert Charles Brown and his wife, Jill Lestage Brown, was completed in 2016. The Brown Building provides classroom and conference room space for the university as well as office space for operating areas such as admissions, registrar, student accounts, financial aid, payroll, budget, human resources and the university's federally-funded TRIO programs - Upward Bound and Student Support Services.

In addition to instructional programs, the Physical Plant of Arkansas Tech University provides space for varsity and intramural recreational activities, and the University farm. 

Arkansas Tech University has several resources which lend themselves to serving the cultural and recreational needs of the University and surrounding community. The Multi-sports Complex opened in 2018 and offers instructional facilities in a large open turf field with a state-of-the-art conference room. The John E. Tucker Coliseum complements the instructional program by providing a setting for concerts, conventions, and sporting events. The Witherspoon Arts and Humanities Building has an auditorium with a seating capacity of 742. The L.L. “Doc” Bryan Student Services Center constitutes the main facility for student affairs, student government, and indoor recreational activities. The Arkansas Tech Museum, located in the Techionery Building, contains exhibits on Arkansas Tech history; museum lectures and events address cultural needs on the campus and in the community, and offer opportunities for students in the Parks, Recreation and Hospitality Department to become involved in interpretive activities.

The Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center opened in June 1999. The facility is an architectural landmark which signaled a new era of library service at Arkansas Tech University. Some of its features are group study rooms of various sizes; more than 140 general use computer workstations configured for a variety of student needs; networked access to databases and electronic reference resources; a reference desk dedicated to assistance and instruction in information search and retrieval processes; two help desks for technology-related problems; a distance learning classroom; a large conference room equipped with audiovisual support; instructional computer labs; and audio lab; a music/multimedia computer lab; copiers and scanners; networked printing with 200 free pages per semester for students; access to the campus wireless network with your own mobile device; comfortable reading areas with great views; and well-designed furniture throughout the building’s open floor plan.