Two professors from the Department of History, Geography, and Political Science at Southern Arkansas University, Magnolia, recently attended the annual meeting of the Arkansas Historical Association held at the Ozark Ford Center in Mountain View.
Dr. James F. Willis, retired professor of history and political science, presented “The Farmers’ Schools of 1909: Origins of Arkansas’ Four State Regional Universities.” This paper resulted from his research on the history of SAU. He plans to publish its centennial history in 2009. Its tentative title is “Southern Arkansas University, 1909-2009: The Mulerider School’s First Century.”
As a member of the Association’s board of directors, Dr. Ben F. Johnson, attended the meeting and was re-elected vice president. In addition, Johnson has arranged for the Association to hold its annual meeting in 1909 in Magnolia and the University as part of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of SAU, Arkansas State University, Arkansas Tech University, and the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Johnson is an associate professor of history.
