University Timeline (1934-1959)

1936 The Reserve Officers Training Corps program is established.

1937 The Commons Building is built.

1942 The Army Administration School is established, the sixth such unit in the nation and the first in the state.

January 1943 V.C. Kays retires following nearly 33 years of service to the institution. Horace E. Thompson, a graduate of the Class of 1925, succeeds Kays as president.

June 1945 Horace Thompson resigns as president, and V.C. Kays re-fills the position temporarily.

April 1946 Dr. William J. Edens is appointed as Arkansas State’s third president.

1948  The first Greek organizations are chartered on campus—the Alpha Pi Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity, the Delta Theta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and the Epsilon Zeta chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority.

1951 The Student Government Association is formed.

March 21, 1951 President Edens resigns from ASC; Dean J. Walter Turner serves as acting president until a replacement can be found.

April 3, 1951  Dr. Carl R. Reng is named president of Arkansas State College and leads the institution through the next 24 years of growth.

1955  Master’s degree graduate programs are initiated.

1955  Beebe Junior College becomes a branch of Arkansas State College, and the name is changed to  known as ASU-Beebe.

1955  Walter Strong and Fred Turner become the first African American students on campus.

1957  The Indian Club is founded to support the institution’s athletic programs. The club starts with 24 members.

May 17, 1957  KASU signed on the air with the words, "Good afternoon everyone. KASU-FM, an educational non-commercial station, now begins broadcast operations on this day, the seventeenth of May, 1957."

Next 25 Years (1959-1984)