In 2017, a $120 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation transformed the University of Arkansas’ Department of Art into a School of Art. It was the largest gift ever to a university art program. A second $40 million gift that year from the Windgate Foundation helped establish an Art and Design District in South Fayetteville, which now includes the new Studio and Design Center, a separate Sculpture Studio and an upcoming space for both studios and public galleries.

The Walton Gift funded scholarships and expanded programs in art history, art education and graphic design. It also gave the School of Art a mission to support the arts and art education throughout Arkansas.

This month on the Short Talks from the Hill podcast, Rachel Debuque, the director of the School of Art, joins us to talk about the school's outreach to pre-college students and arts educators across Arkansas and to the community here in Northwest Arkansas.

“In education, arts participation is linked to higher GPAs, lower dropout rates and stronger engagement. And we know that integrating arts into core subjects can actually deepen the learning of those subjects in really meaningful ways,” Debuque said.

Short Talks from the Hill highlights research, scholarly work and economic impact news at the University of Arkansas.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas’ economy  through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.