UALR Chancellor Dr. Joel E. Anderson spoke with the UALR Board of Visitors in a special session on Tuesday, Aug. 13, about starting a conversation regarding an alternative site for the proposed technology park near UALR.

“We want to talk to our neighbors and key stakeholders about the desirability of offering to sell our properties to the tech park board for the location and development of the technology park,” said Anderson.

Dr. Anderson highlighted a roughly 20-acre area near UALR bordered on the east by Fair Park Boulevard that would give the tech park its “best chance of success.”

The site is ideal because of its proximity to UALR and the intellectual resources the school offers, along with fellow tech park sponsor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The City of Little Rock is also a sponsor in the proposed park.

By locating closer to campus, UALR would get in return a revitalized University District, the ability to recruit an even stronger pool of faculty and students, and business for the city, according to Anderson.

“That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “If the city wins, UALR wins.”

Anderson added, however, that he would be a “cheerleader for whatever site the Technology Park Board chooses.”

Anderson will address the Tech Park Board at its regular meeting tomorrow in the Bailey Center on the UALR campus. For a detailed map of the proposed location and Chancellor Anderson’s speech, visit the Office of the Chancellor’s web page.