UA Little Rock Celebrates Completion of Trojan Way Project

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock celebrated the completion of the multi-year Trojan Way Project, a transformation that revitalizes the heart of campus and propels it into the next century.

The significant addition to campus, which was funded by an $8.5 million grant from the George W. Donaghey Foundation, features a beautiful new north-south promenade running from University Drive to 28th Street.

It represents “our commitment to enhancing the student experience, fostering campus engagement, and embracing the future of our university,” according to UA Little Rock Chancellor Christina S. Drale.

Trojan Way also features a newly reimagined plaza space outside Ottenheimer Library, transformed into an outdoor campus learning environment with expanded seating and gathering areas.

“It would be hard to overstate the impact of this opportunity to create a unifying experience on this campus,” Dr. Drale said. “Through the generosity and vision of the Donaghey Foundation as well as others who have stepped up to contribute to this effort, we have been able to turn a walkway into a destination. I want to thank Shawn Luther with DCI for his work in creating a beautiful destination design that will take us into our next 100 years.”

The university celebrated the Trojan Way dedication Oct. 8 by showing pictures of how the previous promenade used to look with a big reveal of the transformed walkway. The former pathway was made from many different materials that evolved over the years without a comprehensive plan in mind.

“Over the last three years, I’ve been lucky enough to see the transformation to where we are then to where we are now,” said Shawn Luther of DCI. “It’s not that often as a landscape architect that we get to work on projects that are this big and transformative not only in the immediate sense, but this is the type of project that will provide a framework for the development of this campus for decades into the future.”

Representatives of WER Architects, the project architect, and Nabholz Construction, the project’s contractor, joined the celebration. Special guests who joined the dedication include U.S. Rep. French Hill, Dr. Donald Bobbitt, president of the University of Arkansas System, UA Little Rock Chancellor Emeritus Joel Anderson, and members of the George W. Donaghey Foundation Board of Directors, University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees, UA Little Rock Board of Visitors, and the Centennial Campaign Committee.

Student Government Association President An Le, who studied abroad last semester, said she was shocked when she returned to campus and saw how different everything looked with the fences taken down and the project completed.

“It’s really fun to walk to class and see everyone gathering here and hanging out,” Le said. “It’s so nice to have a place to meet, to take a quick study break, or to connect with classmates after getting our Starbucks. The unity on campus is so much better, and I am so excited for future students to have this for their entire campus career here at UA Little Rock.”

The Trojan Way project is a part of the Centennial Campaign, which aims to improve the university’s living and learning environment, scholarships, and program excellence. The Centennial Campaign has a goal of raising $250 million by 2027.

Several donors have made gifts to enhance spaces along Trojan Way, including the Riggs Benevolent Fund who sponsored the North Terminus in memory of John A. Riggs Jr., an anonymous donor who funded the Donaghey Stage in honor of the George W. Donaghey Foundation Board of Trustees, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield who sponsored a garden near the Fine Arts Building, and H.A. Ted Bailey III who funded the gardens that flank the Donaghey Stage.

Trojan Way includes walkways with landscaping and lighting, multiple gardens and outdoor learning environments, the new Donaghey Stage for events, and benches with built-in charging stations. UA Little Rock planted more than 250 trees along the more than 200,000 square-foot-project.

“It adds a new dimension to the community,” said Michelle Malone, a librarian communications specialist. “It was so exciting for the fences to come down and see the space so transformed. It has brought in new energy to see people connecting and interacting right outside the library.”

Maison Wright, a senior nursing major, thinks that Trojan Way makes campus look and feel more open.

“I’ve seen a lot more people out and about since it was finished,” Wright said. “It feels homey and refreshing.”

The idea for the Trojan Way Project emerged four years ago when Dr. Drale was touring campus with the facilities director and noted that the Ottenheimer Library Plaza needed some TLC.

“I noted that this spot should be the heart of the campus with the student center on one side and the library on the other,” Dr. Drale said. “The Donaghey Foundation had never done anything like this before, but I took a chance on convincing them of the transformational impact a project like this could have.”

The Donaghey Foundation liked the idea so much that they asked Dr. Drale to expand the project, resulting in the celebration of “what Greg Flesher would call a big hairy audacious goal.”

Flesher, president of the Donaghey Foundation Board of Trustees, noted that Gov. Donaghey is often remembered as the education governor for starting multiple colleges in Arkansas as well as his gift to support UA Little Rock.

“He thought it was very important in his vision for this university to help the city grow, and he wanted all the funds to be used to benefit the experience the students had while on campus,” Flesher said. “There’s not a great city in the United States that doesn’t have a great university. I think it’s very important that we the citizens of Little Rock support this university. There is so much going on here. There’s a lot that can be done. I would ask everyone here to think about what we can do to support the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and take it into the future.”