FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – About 40 University of Arkansas faculty, Chancellor Joe and Sandy Steinmetz, Provost Jim Coleman and Dean Deacue Fields, the new leader of  the Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, all head out today on a three day bus tour of Arkansas, expanding a tradition started two years ago.

Steinmetz organized the first tour in 2016, shortly after joining the U of A, as a way to learn more about Arkansas people and places. He found that experience so valuable that he expanded the tour to include new faculty the following year.

“The opportunity to see the places and meet the people that make Arkansas unique was invaluable to me last year as a newcomer to the U of A,” said Coleman. “The best way for our new faculty to learn about Arkansas is to get out and see the state, meet Arkansans, see some of our students’ hometowns and see some of the work the U of A does across our state.”

Dean Fields is so interested in experiencing southeast Arkansas that he’s spending his first week on the job as a member of the bus tour.

This year's tour loops the central and southeast corner of Arkansas. The first year the tour rolled through south Arkansas and last year travelled through the north and northeast part of the state. Other areas are planned for the tours in the coming years.

The three-day bus tour departs Fayetteville on Tuesday, May 15 and includes stops in the following communities:

• May 15: Hot Springs and Monticello
• May 16: McGehee, Rohwer, Dumas, Pine Bluff
• May 17: Little Rock and Clarksville

Follow the tour on U of A social media with #UARKtour18.

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.