Congressman Steve Womack to Speak at Spring Commencement

United States Representative Steve Womack (R-Ark. 3rd District) will be the featured speaker at this year's U of A spring commencement ceremony.

More than 6,500 graduates are expected to participate in commencement ceremonies over the course of two days, starting on Friday, May 8.

Womack will speak at the university commencement ceremony on Friday, May 8, at 8:30 a.m. in Bud Walton Arena.

Livestreaming of all ceremonies, including the university commencement, will be available on the U of A YouTube channel.

More About U.S. Rep. Steve Womack

Womack has represented the Third Congressional District of Arkansas since his election in 2010. He is currently a senior member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, where he serves as the chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee and also sits on the Defense and Financial Services and General Government Subcommittees.

He formerly served as the chair of the House Budget Committee and chair of the Financial Services and General Government's Subcommittee on Appropriations. Womack was also tapped by Speaker Paul Ryan to lead the 2018 16-member, bipartisan, bicameral Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform.

Womack is committed to ensuring that the voices of his constituents are represented in Washington. In Congress, he is widely known for his time holding one of the longest consecutive voting streaks maintained by a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, casting his 8,823rd consecutive vote in 2025.

While serving in the majority, Womack has repeatedly been House leadership’s go-to presiding officer. In 2016, Speaker Ryan asked him to preside over the Republican National Convention during the contentious rules vote. In 2025, Womack spent 16 hours in the speaker’s chair during the vote series that resulted in passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Womack has a strong record of public service to the Natural State, which has been defined by a lifelong philosophy to “lead by example and lead from the front.” As the former mayor of Rogers, he is credited with leading an unprecedented expansion of the Rogers economy with more than $1 billion in local investment. He was the 2022 recipient of the “Dick Trammel Good Neighbor Award,” the Rogers community’s highest honor presented to individuals who have contributed to the betterment of Rogers and the region.

Womack retired from the Arkansas Army National Guard in 2009 at the rank of colonel with more than 30 years of service. His deployment to Sinai, Egypt, in 2002 marked the first time a National Guard unit performed the mission of the Multinational Force and Observers. Womack’s Task Force received accolades from the highest levels of military and civilian leaders. Womack is a graduate of Arkansas Tech University, where he was inducted into the ATU Hall of Distinction in 2014. He is a member of the Arkansas National Guard’s Office Candidate School Hall of Fame. His military awards include the Legion of Merit, the Arkansas Distinguished Service Medal, and, in 2015, Womack was presented with the Harry S. Truman Award — the highest award given by the National Guard Bureau.

He also serves as the chair of the West Point Board of Visitors, where he supports the U.S. Military Academy — the nation’s preeminent leadership development institution — in its mission to train the next generation of Army officers. He was first appointed to the Board of Visitors in 2012 and subsequently elected the board's chairman in 2017. Womack is currently the only congressional representative from Arkansas to serve on the board.

He makes his home in Rogers and is the father of three sons and the grandfather of several grandchildren.

Commencement Schedule

Check out the schedule for each of the college and school commencements.

About the University of Arkansas: Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas’ fundamental purpose as a land-grant institution and state flagship remains unchanged — to serve the state of Arkansas. The U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs and contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas’ economy. Through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, as well as discovery through research and creative activity, the U of A is among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity classified by the Carnegie Foundation. U.S. News & World Report also annually ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. The U of A represents the best of public higher education, advancing Arkansas while building a better world.