Senator Bumpers speaking with an Arkansas rancher, September 1984. Bumpers played an instrumental role in showcasing the agriculture of Arkansas and in 1995, the U of A Board of Trustees recognized his service by naming the College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences in his honor.
Senator Bumpers visits with a boy scout troop during the annual Greers Ferry Clean Up, January 1988.
Senator Dale Bumpers speaking to Political Science students, with Professor Janine Parry and Carolyn Allen, Dean of the Libraries, during a visit to Special Collections in April 2011. Bumpers made several visits to Special Collections while his papers were being processed.
From his time as a young lawyer in a small town, then as an early advocate for racial integration of Arkansas schools, to his two terms as Governor and decades in the US Senate, Dale Bumpers dedicated himself to improving the lives of Arkansans. His tireless work and distinguished career are documented by the Dale Bumpers Papers (MC1490).
Bumpers donated his papers to the University Libraries in 2000 and the Libraries opened the collection to researchers in March 2014. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, legislative and committee materials, personal and office records, speeches, photographs, audio-visual materials and ephemera, all of which document his roots in Arkansas, as well as his senatorial and post-senatorial career in Washington, D.C.
The collection includes more than 1,000 boxes and is the second largest manuscript collection held by the University Libraries. Its contents support research in areas from agriculture and environmental sustainability to political science and business.
The University Libraries Special Collections Department is honored to preserve this collection and make it available to future generations. The finding aid for the collection is available online. More information about Bumpers’ relationship to the University of Arkansas is also available online.