An historic building at Arkansas Tech University has new tenants and a new purpose.
Hughes Hall is now home to staff members from the ATU Division of Administration and Finance. They moved into the 86-year old building in April following the completion of a renovation project that began in October 2025.
By renovating Hughes Hall, Arkansas Tech allowed more than 20 staff members to return to on-campus offices. They had been working in a facility located at 404 N. El Paso Ave. since 2022.
“These staff members interact with every single person at Arkansas Tech,” said Suzanne McCall, ATU vice president for administration and finance. “We have offices such as payroll, accounts payable, procurement, controller, budget, post-award grants and travel in this building, and bringing them back on campus is a massive benefit for our university as a whole. It also helps functionality by having them right in the heart of campus, and it helps morale because it makes them more a part of campus. They want to be a part of the university, so by bringing them back it shows the appreciation we have for them and everything they do for our institution.”
The interior and exterior renovation was made possible by a $1.7 million grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council (ANCRC).
“Every historical building we have on our campus has been touched by an ANCRC grant,” said McCall. “That partnership is vital for Arkansas Tech because it gives us the ability to perform projects that would otherwise be impossible. Now, a facility that wasn’t going to be used is extremely functional and will be a high-traffic building for the university as a whole. We have restored a part of our history here at Hughes Hall.”
In December 1939, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) approved an application from Arkansas Polytechnic College for funds to construct an on-campus armory dormitory in conjunction with the Arkansas National Guard.
Constructed at a cost of $34,473, the distinctive stone building was completed in 1940. It included storage space for Arkansas National Guard equipment and dormitory rooms. The WPA provided a $20,817 grant for the project. The remaining $13,656 was provided by Arkansas Tech. Finishing costs of $4,680 were provided by a second WPA grant, which was awarded on Oct. 20, 1940.
The Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees voted in October 1954 to name the armory dormitory, commonly referred to as the Rock Dormitory, as Hughes Hall. It was formally dedicated at Homecoming 1955 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 18, 1992.
The building’s namesake, Claude A. Hughes, served on the Arkansas Polytechnic College faculty from 1927-59 and was the standard bearer for the institution’s agricultural roots for more than three decades. The Future Farmers of America chapter at ATU is named in honor of Hughes and Joseph W. Hull, who served as Arkansas Tech president from 1932-67.
Hughes Hall has fulfilled multiple functions over its 86 years of service to Arkansas Tech. After serving as a dormitory for many years, it was converted to a machine shop for the engineering program and it later provided shop space for the ATU physical plant. It was returned to service as a residence hall in 2009 following an early 21st century enrollment boom at ATU.
The 2025-26 interior renovation of Hughes Hall included installation of new hollow metal door frames for new openings, replacing and upgrading interior finishings, supplementing existing mechanical and electrical renovation, modifying fire suppression system to support the building layout and upgrading the fire alarm system. Laundry rooms and showers that were utilized during the building’s residence hall era were removed.
As for the exterior of Hughes Hall, improvements include natural stone façade cleaning, crack patching and tuckpointing, cleaning of pre-cast concrete window sills, tuckpointing concrete stairs and landings, an historic window restoration, roof replacement and decking repairs as required and the repair and/or repainting of soffits, handrails and dormers.
