The Sam M. Walton College of Business (Walton College or Walton) is the business school at the University of Arkansas, a public research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Created in 1926, the college is the second-largest college at the University of Arkansas, serving over 9,000 students. Walton College offers undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs and is known nationally for its strong programs in retail, entrepreneurship, information systems, and supply chain management. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks Walton College among the top business schools in the country. The college has a close relationship with Walmart Stores, Inc., based in nearby Bentonville, Arkansas, and related vendor community.

History

The School of Business Administration was founded in 1926 by Harvard graduate Charles C. Fichtner, who became the college's first dean. The original curricula covered accounting, banking, finance, general business, industrial management, and marketing. The college gained accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, also known as AACSB International, in 1931. A $100,000 donation from business owner Barney Lewis, class of 1934, helped establish a professional development program at the college that would later become the Leadership Walton program. In 1996, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation gifted the college $6.7 million, which funded the Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development.

Eponym

The college is named after the founder of Walmart Stores, Inc., Sam Walton, when in October 1998, the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation made a $50 million upfront cash gift. The company is headquartered in nearby Bentonville, Arkansas, and employs hundreds of Walton College graduates. This was the largest ever given to a public business college at the time. This established the "Sam M. Walton College of Business Administration", but the name was shorted to the "Sam M. Walton College of Business" in 2000. Walmart's Live Better U education program offers free tuition and books for Walmart associates looking to earn undergraduate degrees in supply chain management, marketing and general business from Walton College.

Leadership

The College of Business has had 10 deans since 1926, and two interim deans.

Departments

Rankings

U.S. News & World Report has ranked Walton College’s undergraduate business program in the top 30 public business schools for 23 consecutive years. The undergraduate program currently ranks #25 among public colleges and #40 overall. The online business program is ranked #12 nationally out of 214 institutions. The Princeton Review lists the Walton M.B.A. among the best M.B.A. programs in the country, along with ranking Walton College of Business #4 in the South and #22 in the nation for best graduate entrepreneurship programs. The Wall Street Journal ranked the Walton M.B.A. 11th out of 600 M.B.A. programs for best return on investment. The 2021 analysis, which reviewed federal student loan and post-graduation salary data, found that students at Walton take on an average of $27,800 in federal student loan debt and go on to earn an average of $106,421 annually two years after graduating. Walton College is also frequently recognized for its strong Supply Chain Management program. Global research and consulting firm Gartner has ranked Walton College’s undergraduate supply chain program the #1 program in North America for three years in a row, while the graduate program is ranked #2. U.S. News & World Report currently ranks the undergraduate supply chain program #9 nationally, while the Walton M.B.A. supply chain specialty track is ranked #14. U.S. News & World Report ranks Walton College's undergraduate Management Information Systems program #14 among public colleges and #18 nationally. Walton's Department of Information Systems is consistently ranked among the top 5 in the world based on publications in premier IS journals.

Leadership Initiatives

In 2020, Walton College created two leadership initiatives geared toward ethics and the customer experience.

Facilities

Business education at the University of Arkansas began on the third floor Old Main in 1926. Known as the School of Business Administration, four faculty and 21 students began business education at UA. In 1928, the school moved to the former engineering building, which was renamed the Commerce Building. The College moved to its present location at 220 North McIlroy in 1978 following the completion of the Business Building. It was renamed to Sam M. Walton College of Business Administration following a $50 million donation from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation in 1998. The Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development at 145 North Buchanan was built following a grant from Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in 1996. Following the Campaign for the 21st Century, the Walton College saw a period of rapid facility growth. Willard J. Walker Hall at 191 North Harmon and the J.B. Hunt Transport Services Center for Academic Excellence at 227 North Harmon opened in 2007 adjacent to the Business Building, enclosing the Linda Sue Shollmier Plaza and creating a business campus within the southern part of the UA campus. The McMillon Innovation Studio, named for alumnus Doug McMillon, was opened in a former retail space at 146 North Harmon near the other business buildings in 2016. A gallery, with dates used by the College of Business in parentheses, shows the facilities used throughout the years.

Notable Alumni

Notable Faculty Members

According to Research.com and Elsevier, faculty at Walton College are ranked among the top 2% of scientists and most cited researchers in the world: