Alumni News
Jones elected to Arkansas Agri Hall of Fame Jack Jones of Pottsville, a 1956 graduate of Arkansas
Jones was elected to the Arkansas Farm Bureau Board
Tech University, was enshrined in the Arkansas Agriculture
of Directors in 1969. He served as vice president of the
Hall of Fame during a ceremony on March 12 at the
board from 1976-1993.
Embassy Suites Hotel in Little Rock. Prior to his service on the state board, Jones served as Jones entered the farming business with his father in 1956. He was named Pope County Outstanding Young
president, vice president and secretary-treasurer of the Pope County Farm Bureau.
Farmer in 1961. Jones assumed control of the family farm in 1970.
Jones’ public service has also included work on behalf of the Pope County Fair Board, the Soybean Promotion
He built a successful 1,600-acre cattle and row crop
Board, the Arkansas Economic Education Council, the
operation in the Arkansas River Valley which included
Arkansas Tech Alumni Association Board of Directors and
soybeans, milo and wheat.
the Pottsville School Board.
Distinguished Lecture Series hosts Hardgrave Dr. Bill Hardgrave, founder of the
8
Tech Action
Hardgrave went on to receive a
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
Master of Business Administration
Research Center in the University of
degree with an emphasis in computer
Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of
information systems from Missouri
Business, spoke at Rothwell Hall on
State University in 1990. He earned
the Arkansas Tech University campus
a Ph.D. in management information
this spring as part of the College of
systems from Oklahoma State
Business Distinguished Lecture Series.
University in 1993.
The RFID laboratory that Hardgrave
After receiving the Phoenix
developed in Fayetteville has been
Outstanding Doctoral Student award
described by RFID Journal as “the
from the Oklahoma State Graduate
most advanced of any owned by a
College in 1993, Hardgrave joined the
university.”
faculty at the University of Arkansas as an assistant professor in the Walton
According to the Association for
College of Business.
Automatic Identification and Mobility (AIM) Global, RFID “is a generic term that is used to describe a system that
He was promoted to associate professor in 1997, and
transmits the identity (in the form of a unique serial
in 1999 he founded the University of Arkansas Information
number) of an object or person wirelessly, using radio
Technology Research Institute.
waves.” Hardgrave was named Edwin and Karlee Bradberry RFID technology is used by companies for asset
Chair in Information Systems in 2001. Four years later,
tracking and supply chain management. Wal-Mart, Target
he founded and was named director of the University of
and Best Buy are among the retailers that utilize RFID.
Arkansas RFID Research Center. Hardgrave was promoted to professor in 2007. He was elected to the Arkansas
Individuals benefit from RFID in a number of every day
Computing Academy and he received the Ted Williams
applications, including the microchips that are planted in
Award from AIM Global for his work with RFID technology
pets to help track them in the event they go missing.
in 2009.
A 1987 graduate of Arkansas Tech University,
Soon after his appearance at Tech, Hardgrave
Hardgrave earned his Bachelor of Science degree in
accepted the position of dean of the Auburn University
computer science.
College of Business.