History

The University of Arkansas Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology was created in 2019 after the merging of the Department of Entomology and the Department of Plant Pathology. This merger was approved by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees and the Arkansas Department of Higher Education at the November 14-15, 2018 meeting. 

Agenda Item 7.2 of the offical minutes states:

7.2 Approval of a Proposal to Reorganize the Department of Entomology and the Department of Plant Pathology into One Unit Titled the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, UAF:

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS THAT the proposal of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville to reorganize the Department of Entomology and the Department of Plant Pathology into one unit titled the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, within the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, is hereby approved.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT  the President is hereby authorized to submit this proposal to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education for appropriate action. 

Brief History of the University of Arkansas Department of Entomology

Entomology was a discipline area in the very beginning of the state's land-grant university, and in many ways the department reflects the changing focus and maturity of the university. Several well-known entomologists have studied in the department and contributed to its practical and conceptual foundation, including C. W. Woodworth, W. J. Baerg, Dwight Isely, H. H. Schwardt, W. R. Horsfall, and Charles G. Lincoln.

Arkansas Industrial University opened on January 23, 1872. Professor Richard Thurston, M.D., stated in the 1873 Catalog of Studies "to effectively control insects there is required a knowledge of entomology". Entomology was listed in the Catalog of Studies for the second term of the student's third year during the early years of the university. The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station was established in 1888. S. W. Crossman was the first trained entomologist and published the third bulletin of the Experiment Station on "The Peach Tree Borer and the Codling Moth" -- the first experiment station bulletin the U.S. published with Hatch funds.

Read the in-depth history of the Department of Entomology.

Brief History of the University of Arkansas Department of Plant Pathology

The University of Arkansas was founded in 1871.  The Department of Plant Pathology was established in 1909.  Before that,  there is no evidence from the available records that either teaching or research in the field of Plant Pathology was carried out prior to the establishment of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station under the Hatch Act in 1887.  Records show that a limited amount of teaching and research in Plant Pathology was carried out in the Department of Horticulture during the period 1887-1909.