Dean Matt Waller to Teach 'Arkansas Business' Honors Course

Photo by David Speer.

Walton College Dean Matt Waller will lead the 2017 Honors College Forum on Arkansas Business.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Tyson Foods … J.B. Hunt … Dillards … Walmart. The roll call of global businesses launched from Arkansas is an illustrious one. In an Honors College Forum called Arkansas Business, scheduled for fall 2017, Matt Waller, dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, will introduce honors students to the leaders who have shaped the success of these and other companies.

In this course students will explore why Arkansas has produced a run of amazingly profitable companies, despite the fact that landlocked Arkansas used to lack good roads and other factors that typically fuel success.

“Why here? Why not some other state? I think grit has something to do with it,” Matt Waller said. Waller is working on a book on the topic, and students enrolled in the forum will contribute to his research.

Waller will bring in some of Arkansas’ most successful entrepreneurs, managers and leaders to meet with students, both in class and during informal dinners. Teams of students also will be charged with researching and analyzing an Arkansas business, its core personnel and a competitor.

“This forum provides an unparalleled opportunity for honors students,” said Lynda Coon, Honors College dean. “They will get a master class in networking from a master networker, and develop a nuanced understanding of how Arkansas’ top businesses mapped the path to success.”

Arkansas Business is the third in the Honors College Forum series, which brings top faculty and administrators together with honors students to discuss trending issues, from the 2016 election to the current course, Flagship U!, taught by Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz in his home.

Waller will present a preview lecture at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, in the Gearhart Hall Auditorium (GEAR 26). Arkansas Business will meet on Mondays from 5-6:15 p.m. Honors students interested in leadership and networking are encouraged to apply. For more information, visit the Forum: Arkansas Business page on the Honors College website.

About the Honors College: The University of Arkansas Honors College was established in 2002 and unites the university’s top undergraduate students and professors in a learning environment characterized by discovery, creativity and service. Each year the Honors College awards up to 90 freshman fellowships that provide $70,000 over four years, and more than $1 million in undergraduate research and study abroad grants. The Honors College is nationally recognized for the high caliber of students it admits and graduates. Honors students enjoy small, in-depth classes, and programs are offered in all disciplines, tailored to students’ academic interests, with interdisciplinary collaborations encouraged. Fifty percent of Honors College graduates have studied abroad – three times the national average – and one hundred percent of Honors College graduates have engaged in mentored research.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.