William H. Bowen School of Law - History

History

The first law school established in Arkansas was in Little Rock. However, politics caused the school faculty to reform themselves as a private law school in the 1910s. Subsequently, the state law school in Fayetteville was established. The private law school disbanded in the 1960s. The latest incarnation of the law school started as a part-time program that was an extension of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville School of Law, and by 1975 was given autonomy and became a unit of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

The school resided in various locations, primarily the old Federal Courthouse in downtown Little Rock. The building was adjacent to the Pulaski County Courthouse, which afforded students the chance to see law in action. However, the facility was plagued with poor parking and was insufficient to handle the growing student population.

The law school's current campus is located adjacent to MacArthur Park, near the Arkansas Center for Fine Arts. The building was originally built for the medical school of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, which moved to its current campus in the central part of Little Rock in 1956. The current building was extensively renovated in 1992.

The law school is named after William H. Bowen, a former dean, and important figure in the administration of Arkansas Gov. William J. Clinton before he became President.

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