Henderson State University is the only university in the State of Arkansas to have been controlled by both church and state. It is also the only public university in the state to be named for an individual; it was renamed for Charles Christopher Henderson, a trustee and prominent Arkadelphia businessman, on May 23, 1904. Overall, the university has operated under six different names: Arkadelphia Methodist College (1890–1904), Henderson College (1904–1911), Henderson-Brown College (1911–1929), Henderson State Teachers College (1929–1967), Henderson State College (1967–1975) and Henderson State University (1975–present). In 1929, the university, known then as Henderson Brown College, was pressured to merge with Hendrix College by the Arkansas Methodist Conferences. However, Arkadelphians and southern Arkansan leaders refused to let the institution leave and offered it to the State of Arkansas. The Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 46 to "establish a standard Teachers College in Arkadelphia," turning Henderson Brown College into Henderson State Teachers College. • George Childs Jones (1890–1897, 1899–1904) • Cadesman Pope (1897–1899) • John Hartwell Hinemon (1904–1911) • George Henry Crowell (1911–1915) • James Mims Workman (1915–1926) • Clifford Lee Hornaday (1926–1928) • James Warthen Workman (1928–1929) • Joseph Pitts Womack (1929–1939) • Joseph A. Day (1939–1941) • Matt Locke Ellis (1941–1945) • Dean D. McBrien (1945–1963) • M. H. Russell (1963–1969) • Martin B. Garrison (1970–1986) • Charles DeWitt Dunn (1986–2008) • Charles Welch (2008–2011) • Bobby G. Jones (2011–2012, acting president) • Glendell Jones Jr. (2012–2019, last president) • Elaine Kneebone (2019–2020, acting president) • Jim Borsig (2020–2021, acting chancellor) • Charles Ambrose (2021–2023, first chancellor) • Bob Fisher (2023, acting chancellor) • Trey Berry (2024–present)
Glen Jones years and subsequent financial crisis Glendell Jones Jr. was named Henderson State University's 17th president on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, and officially assumed presidential duties on July 1, 2012. Jones' tenure as president was marked by a series of scandals and bad publicity and he and his senior leadership were twice the subject of no-confidence votes by the faculty. These votes were not heeded by the university's board of trustees. When the true scope of the university's budget crisis became public in July 2019, Jones was asked to resign. Jones—as well as several other current and former administrators, staff, and members of the board of trustees—were called to testify before the Arkansas legislature in 2020 as part of the state's effort to understand the university's financial collapse. Following Jones' resignation, then-general counsel Elaine Kneebone was named acting president. She was replaced by interim President/Chancellor Jim Borsig, who resigned in early 2021 citing health concerns. Chuck Ambrose was hired in November 2021 as the first permanent head of the institution in over two years. On October 24, 2019, the Henderson State Board of Trustees voted unanimously to join the
Arkansas State University System based in Little Rock. In February 2022, the university, claiming a pending cash shortfall of over $12 million, declared financial exigency and announced plans to begin cuts to personnel and programs in an effort to "right-size" the university and avert the university's closure. On May 2, 2022, 37% of faculty received phone calls from the chancellor's office that their positions had been terminated, 12 departments were excised entirely, eliminating many degree programs. The university cut 67 faculty positions, of which 44 were tenured. Students and faculty protested the sweeping changes, and on May 4, the Faculty Senate voted no confidence in the administration. On May 5, the ASUS Board dismissed the vote of no confidence and approved Chancellor Ambrose's recommendations for program and faculty cuts. Over a year later, Ambrose announced his resignation, effective September 15, 2023. ASU System President Charles Welch later announced the selection of Bob Fisher, a native of Arkadelphia and former president of Belmont University, as interim chancellor of Henderson State.
2019 campus methamphetamine synthesis incident In October 2019, police responded to a campus chemistry laboratory at the Reynolds Science Center following concerns of chemical odors resulting in the building's closure for several weeks. Initial investigation found elevated levels of
benzyl chloride and subsequently found
methamphetamine residues. Two chemistry professors were arrested and charged with manufacturing methamphetamine. == Undergraduate Demographics ==