On Friday, ASU-Newport’s Marked Tree campus turns 50 years old. A celebration takes place Friday afternoon on site from one to five. Director of Marketing and Communications at ASU-Newport Jeremy Shirley tells about how the Marked Tree campus got started.
“The Marked Tree campus started in 1966 when Bill Stanley was called to Little Rock to meet with a vocational school group to start an institution in Poinsett County,” says Shirley. “From what I understand, the Ritter Company donated the land the campus is currently on. Construction began in 1967. When they opened their doors, there were 71 students enrolled and it had five or six technical programs.”
He tells how it has evolved over time.
“The area that used to be a diesel tech lab is now the science area,” says Shirley. “The library used to be a welding area. Over the years, we have added auto service technology in one building, energy control is in another building. Collision repair, computer technology, and business programs are also on the campus in other buildings. There has been a lot of expansion over the years.”
ASU Newport acquired the Jonesboro and Marked Tree campuses in 2008. Shirley says since the college started 50 years ago, over 11,000 degrees have been awarded to students who attended the Marked Tree campus.
