Morris College
PINE BLUFF, Ark. — The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (ASC) is featuring Blaque by UAPB Art & Design Instructor Jonathan Rashad Wright as a highlight of its 2026 Black History Month programming. The opening reception was held on Thursday, February 19, 2026, from 5–7 p.m., launching an exhibition that explores identity, heritage, grief, and resilience…
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) will play a central role in a new statewide initiative to expand Inclusive Postsecondary Education (IPSE) opportunities for students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, following the award of approximately $2 million in federal funding to Arkansas State University over the next five years. The initiative will help campuses strengthen transition pathways and practical skill-building programs across the state. As part of this work, UAPB is introducing a new program within the School of Education and welcomes Robbin Hudson Huntley, Program Coordinator, who will oversee campus activities and serve as the primary contact for students, families, and community partners seeking additional information.
Two staff members and an alumna of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) have been named 2026 New Leaders Council (NLC) Arkansas Fellows. Angela Howard, an Extension Program Aide in Agriculture & Family and Consumer Sciences, Jermaine L. Ramos, a Student Involvement Analyst in the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership (OSIL), and 2022 UAPB Alumna Alexandria Slater are among the 20 Arkansas fellows who were selected.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is proud to announce that The Shine King, a 2025 UAPB TV documentary, has been officially selected for screening at the Denton Black Film Festival (DBFF). The film will screen on Friday, January 30, 2026, at 1:05 p.m. at the historic Campus Theatre in Denton, Texas.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) honored five graduates with the Chancellor’s Medallion at the Fall 2025 Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, December 13, 2025. The Chancellor’s Medallion is UAPB’s highest academic honor, awarded to the top graduate from each school based on cumulative GPA. The ceremony is available on UAPB TV. Notably, the top three overall recipients, Ashley Robinson, Kaiél Kimble, and Cornelia D. Watts, who earned the highest GPAs among all graduates, were also Golden Lion student-athletes from the UAPB Track & Field program,
November 30 marked a historic day for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) as two iconic figures in Golden Lion athletics, former head football coach Lee A. Hardman Sr. and current head women’s basketball coach Erica Smith (Taylor) Leak, were named to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026. The distinguished duo, whose careers span generations and embody excellence across Arkansas athletics, now take their place among the state’s most celebrated coaches, athletes, and leaders, underscoring the importance of this achievement for UAPB and the community.
For Veterans Day 2025, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is highlighting some of its distinguished veteran alumni. Lt. Col. (Retired) Grover L. Gibson, ’70, recently highlighted the achievements of Jesse Walter Arbor and Dalton L. Baugh, Sr., fellow alumni of Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College (AM&N), now UAPB. Their accomplishments broke the Navy’s color barrier for officer ranks, paving the way for future African American servicemembers. Arbor and Baugh were members of the U.S. Navy’s Black Officer Training Program, known as The Golden Thirteen.
The “Richard S. Arnold Award for Distinguished Service” was recently awarded by the Eighth Circuit Bar Association to UAPB Alumnus Jerry M. Hunter. Hunter is Senior Counsel at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP with special expertise in labor and employment law. Hunter graduated from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) with a bachelor’s degree in history and government, and later graduated from Washington University Law School in 1977. Ten years later, Hunter completed the Senior Executive program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Haley Franklin, a native of Scott, Arkansas, graduated debt-free from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a 3.74 GPA. Her journey reflects resilience, faith, and a family legacy of caregiving.Franklin also began her legacy of giving back by launching the Heart to Heal Nursing Scholarship, with the goal of awarding it to a deserving nursing student in Arkansas. She and her parents, Eric and Erika Franklin, came to the UAPB campus to present $500 to Jaylia Knight, a junior Nursing student at UAPB.
Damascus Missionary Baptist Church presented a gift of $8,040 to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). The donation was given during the Homecoming 2025 Alumni Assembly at the Kenneth L. Johnson, Sr. HPER Complex. This year’s gift builds on the church’s consistent giving history – $2,000 annually since 2017 – further strengthening its long-standing relationship with the University.