Accelerating our Impact

on Arkansas, the United States, and the World

Explore Our Strategic Plan

9,854

Student Enrollment

Supply Chain Program
by Gartner

25^th

Best Public Undergraduate
Business Program
U.S. News and World Report

1,700+

Annual Graduates

About Walton College

The Walton College is one of the world's best business schools. The numbers and rankings bear this out. Students are increasingly choosing the Walton College to get a world-class business education and to launch their careers. In fall 2022, almost 2,500 freshmen chose the Walton College, bringing the College's total enrollment to over 7,500 students. By fall 2024, enrollment had grown to 9,854 students.

Ranking organizations are increasingly recognizing the Walton College. U.S. News & World Report recognized the College as the 25th best public undergraduate business program and 36th among public and private institutions. Based on an analysis of federal student loan data, The Wall Street Journal found that the Walton College MBA program is one of the best values in the country, ranking it 11th in return on investment.

The Walton College's supply chain management program is consistently recognized as one of the best in the world. In 2020, 2022, and 2024, Gartner ranked the Walton College undergraduate program as #1 in North America, and in 2022 and 2024, ranked its graduate program as #2 in North America.

The global reputation of the Walton College faculty continues to grow as well. World-renowned experts are choosing to make the Walton College their academic home, and several academic departments have recently been recognized for their research productivity.

The information systems department is ranked sixth in the world in research productivity.

The management and strategy, entrepreneurship and venture innovation departments, when considered jointly, were ranked 16th overall in the Texas A&M University/University of Georgia Management Department Research Productivity rankings.

The accounting department was ranked 38th overall in the BYU 2020 accounting research rankings.

The supply chain management department was most recently ranked fifth in research productivity by the Supply Chain Management Journal List.

Our Vision

The vision of the Sam M. Walton College of Business is through our teaching, research, and service, we will be a thought leader and a catalyst for transforming lives in Arkansas, the United States, and the World. Clearly, we are steadily progressing toward this vision.

Each year, the College graduates approximately 1,700 students who enter the workforce or start their own business. Our alumni are leading some of the world's largest companies, including:

Shelley Simpson
- President & CEO of J.B. Hunt Transport Services
Doug McMillon
- President & CEO of Walmart Inc.

Walton College faculty are highly cited by researchers throughout the world. Ten of our faculty members have been cited at least 10,000 times, and Walton faculty account for 13 of the top 25 most cited scholars at the University of Arkansas.

Each year, the College graduates approximately 2,000 students who enter the workforce or start their own business. Our students are equipped with knowledge and skills in their chosen field. They know how to communicate and think critically. Our alumni are leading some of the world’s largest companies. To name a few, alumna Shelley Simpson is president and CEO of J.B. Hunt Transport Services (one of the world’s leading transportation companies) and alumnus Doug McMillon is President and CEO of Walmart Inc. (the world’s largest company by revenue).

As the College moves forward toward its 100th year in 2026, our objective is to accelerate the impact we are making on our local, national, and global communities. Students throughout the United States are increasingly choosing the Walton College to prepare for and launch their professional journey. Faculty are increasingly seeing the Walton College as a platform to be a thought leader in business.

We are positioned in Northwest Arkansas, one of the most dynamic regions in the United States, and due to focused brand-building and marketing efforts, the Walton College is climbing in reputation and rankings.

The time for accelerating our impact is now. The pieces are in place. Our future is one of even greater impact than we only recently imagined.

To accelerate our impact on Arkansas, the United States, and the World, we launch a stakeholder-focused, capability-driven strategy. This strategy is informed by our stakeholders. Its formulation has included our faculty and staff, students, alumni, and our business partners. The impact of a business school primarily occurs through and by its stakeholders. We will focus on further building the capabilities needed to serve, equip, and leverage our stakeholders.

Our Strategic Goals

Elevate the Student Experience

The Walton College student experience should be transformative, easy to navigate, and full of opportunity.

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Empower Faculty and Staff

To best serve our students and all stakeholders, faculty and staff must be at their best.

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Grow Partnerships

Growing partnerships with business and alumni to build a committed community.

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Increase Impact on Society

Business can be one of the world's greatest forces for good.

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Detailed Strategic Plan

Goal 1: Elevate the Student Experience

The Walton College student experience should be transformative, easy to navigate, and full of opportunity for those with the mindset, skills, knowledge, relationships, and experiences needed to thrive in a future that is uncertain and ambiguous.

Strategy 1.1 - Expand practice-based, experiential learning opportunities for students

Action 1.1.1

Increase the number of students who graduate with at least one internship

Metric 1.1.1.1: # of students who graduate with at least one internship

Action 1.1.2

Grow the number of students participating in curricular experiential learning opportunities (project-based)

Metric 1.1.2.1: # of courses that engage with industry and community partners through collaborative projects

Metric 1.1.2.2: # of students that engage with industry and community partners through collaborative projects

Action 1.1.3

Increase the number of students involved in innovation and entrepreneurship programs

Metric 1.1.3.1: # of Walton College students engaged in innovation and entrepreneurship programs

Metric 1.1.3.2: # of non-Walton College students in innovation and entrepreneurship programs

Strategy 1.2 - Reinvent our physical environment to support the future of learning and work

Action 1.2.1

Add WCOB classroom and student collaboration space

Metric 1.2.1.1: $ secured through internal sources

Metric 1.2.1.2: $ secured through external sources

Strategy 1.3 - Enhance the student experience through a unified student success unit

Action 1.3.1

Unify student success units into a singular unit with shared objectives

Metric 1.3.1.1: Combine academic advising and programs, undergraduate recruitment and enrollment management, student engagement, career connections, Arkansas engagement, and the business communications lab into a unified student success unit

Action 1.3.2

Connect students to a broader set of internship and placement opportunities

Metric 1.3.2.1: Redefine and expand the Career Champions role and align to specific departments

Metric 1.3.2.2: Add career recruiter

Metric 1.3.2.3: Increase knowledge rate of career outcomes

Action 1.3.3

Simplify academic advising processes to create a more value-added experience

Metric 1.3.3.1: # of overrides reduced

Metric 1.3.3.2: # of unnecessary appointments reduced

Goal 2: Enhance Faculty and Staff

To best serve our students and all stakeholders, faculty and staff must be at their best. They need the skills, knowledge, opportunities, and passion to carry out our teaching, research, and outreach missions.

Strategy 2.1 - Support research productivity and teaching effectiveness through diversified funding sources

Action 2.1.1

Implement sustainable and predictable summer research support model

Metric 2.1.1.1: Identify funding source and build into the annual budgeting process

Action 2.1.2

Utilize and grow endowments that support research and teaching

Metric 2.1.2.1: Endowed $ raised

Metric 2.1.2.2: % of spendable $ utilized per year

Action 2.1.3

Assist faculty in finding external research funding and support

Metric 2.1.3.1: External research $ received

Metric 2.1.3.2: Criteria for evaluating faculty performance related to external funding

Strategy 2.2 - Support faculty and staff to continuously improve teaching quality

Action 2.2.1

Optimize current teaching performance assessment metrics

Metric 2.2.1.1: Build AFPR and Peer Review Committee (PRC) documents that report instructor evaluations, course evaluations, and GPAs

Action 2.2.2

Add new teaching performance assessment metrics including project courses, class sizes, course levels (i.e., 1000 vs 4000), enrollment at beginning and end of semester (i.e., dropped)

Metric 2.2.2.1: Build AFPR documents that report # of students who complete projects that represent at least 20% of course grade

Metric 2.2.2.2: Build AFPR documents that report class sizes taught, levels taught, and grade distributions

Action 2.2.3

Set up new full-time faculty and lecturers coming from industry for classroom success with best practices on course and syllabus development, Walton teaching expectations, and campus resources

Metric 2.2.3.1: # of new faculty workshops offered (e.g., ACUE)

Metric 2.2.3.2: # of new faculty who participate in onboarding workshops as presenters and learners

Action 2.2.4

Support continuous teaching quality improvement for faculty and lecturers by offering teaching workshops that elevate rigor, relevance, and resonance in the classroom

Metric 2.2.4.1: # of teaching workshops offered (e.g., CTE, TFSC)

Metric 2.2.4.2: # of faculty by type (e.g., lecturers, tenure-track) participating as presenters and learners in teaching workshops

Metric 2.2.4.3: # of workshops introducing emerging, innovative topics (e.g., AI with grading, Kahoot with engagement, Packback for forums)

Action 2.2.5

Grow the number of full-time faculty participating in curricular and extracurricular experiential learning opportunities with industry

Metric 2.2.5.1: # of departments that engage with industry and community partners through collaborative projects

Metric 2.2.5.2: # of faculty that engage with industry and community partners through collaborative projects

Metric 2.2.5.3: # of faculty that engage with industry and community partners through externships

Action 2.2.6

Improve Assurance of Learning (AOL) for undergraduate and graduate programs

Metric 2.2.6.1: % of departments/programs that have passing scores of 80% or higher

Strategy 2.3 - Increase engagement and growth opportunities reflective of a rich faculty mix to foster a sense of community and mission-focused mindsets

Action 2.3.1

Increase the social activities available for faculty and staff to build internal networks

Metric 2.3.1.1: # of social/networking opportunities offered by the Walton College for faculty and staff

Action 2.3.2

Establish Promotion Criteria for Instructors and Professorial Teaching Faculty

Metric 2.3.2.1: % of non-tenure track faculty who promoted in rank

Action 2.3.3

Implement clear and consistent faculty workload guidelines

Metric 2.3.3.1: Overall departmental workload percentages aligned with a 40/40/20 faculty profile.

Action 2.3.4

Complete implementation of classification/compensation system to grow career opportunities for staff

Metric 2.3.4.1: % of staff mapped appropriately

Goal 3: Grow Partnerships with Business and Alumni

Being a business thought leader and a catalyst for transforming lives requires more than just a committed, passionate faculty and staff. It requires a community of alumni, benefactors, corporate partners, small businesses, entrepreneurs, faculty, and staff who are committed to the mission of advancing and disseminating business knowledge through world-class teaching and research. Through the interconnectivity of these stakeholders, opportunities will increase, and outsized impacts can be achieved.

Strategy 3.1 - Develop a systematic approach to connecting with business and alumni

Action 3.1.1

Build a Walton College Alumni Society

Metric 3.1.1.1: # of members

Action 3.1.2

Host engagement opportunities in cities throughout the United States (Dallas, Houston, DC, Chicago, Phoenix, KC, Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas)

Metric 3.1.2.1: # of events hosted

Metric 3.1.2.2: # of attendees

Strategy 3.2 - Engage business leaders in Walton College thought leadership, student engagement and social media to build and sustain partnerships

Action 3.2.1

Create and implement an executive in residence program where business leaders spend one day on campus engaging with students, faculty, and staff

Metric 3.2.1.1: # of participants in the executive in residence program

Action 3.2.2

Create and implement a Dean’s social media, video series that engages business leaders and alumni

Metric 3.2.2.1: # of business leaders and alumni engaged through Dean’s social media, video series

Action 3.2.3

Engage companies, business leaders, and alumni in student-focused programs

Metric 3.2.3.1: # of companies engaged in Walton student programs

Metric 3.2.3.2: # of individuals engaged in Walton student programs

Metric 3.2.3.3: $ contributed to support student programs

Strategy 3.3 – Increase private giving through alumni and friend engagement

Action 3.3.1

$15M new commitments - per year

Metric 3.3.1.1: 500 quality visits/interactions - per year

Metric 3.3.1.2: 75 major gift proposals - per year

Metric 3.3.1.3: 500 new major and annual donors

Goal 4: Increase Impact on Society

Business can be one of the world’s greatest forces for good. Business can lift people out of poverty, increase society’s standard of living, include previously unincluded people, and unleash creativity to solve our biggest societal challenges. Through our students, faculty, staff and alumni, the Walton College positively impacts society through business, particularly Arkansas.

Strategy 4.1 - Serve the citizens of the State of Arkansas by creating business education, research, and economic development initiatives

Action 4.1.1

Launch the Arkansas engagement initiative

Metric 4.1.1.1: # of people engaged in-person and digitally in the five selected communities per year

Action 4.1.2

Grow available scholarships for Arkansans

Metric 4.1.2.1: Land of Opportunity scholarship program $ raised

Action 4.1.3

Advance community college partnerships

Metric 4.1.3.1: # of articulation agreements in place with community colleges in Arkansas

Metric 4.1.3.2: # of students matriculating in online degree programs

Strategy 4.2 - Through Walton College graduate programs and executive education, support the lifelong learning of business leaders who improve the lives of their customers, employees, and other stakeholders through business.

Action 4.2.1

Grow the scope and size of professional graduate programs that meet the learning needs of early-to-mid career professionals

Metric 4.2.1.1: # of students enrolled in professional graduate programs

Action 4.2.2

Develop and execute custom executive education programs that support clients’ business objectives

Metric 4.2.2.1: # of Executive Education instances

Metric 4.2.2.2: Executive education revenue

Strategy 4.3 – Share Walton College research with external stakeholders, including business leaders, policy makers, and consumers, who can apply new knowledge to improve lives of others or their own.

Action 4.3.1

Leverage Walton Insights to share research insights

Metric 4.3.1.1: # of articles published

Metric 4.3.1.2: # of reads

Action 4.3.2

Increase external research funding

Metric 4.3.2.1: # of grant proposals submitted by Walton College faculty and staff

Metric 4.3.2.2: $ awarded to Walton College faculty and staff

By focusing on (1) elevating our student experience, (2) enhancing our faculty and staff, (3) growing our partnerships with business and alumni, and (4) increasing our impact on society, we will accelerate the Walton College impact where our vision demands – Arkansas, the United States, and the World.