Henderson State University, (HSU) in the state of Arkansas, USA, is a public higher education institution which was founded in 1890 and originally called the Arkadelphia Methodist College. The university became publicly owned in the late 1920s, changing its name to Henderson State Teachers College and ushering in a period of rapid expansion. In 1941 the campus burned down but students helped to rebuild it, rather than going elsewhere and this was the birth of the school’s famed ‘reddie spirit’. The institution started offering graduate degrees in the early 1950s and in 1975 changed its name to Henderson State University. The school’s motto for over a century has been “The School with a Heart.”

Today HSU is home to students studying both postgraduate and undergraduate degrees. The university offers in the region of 40 bachelor’s degrees as well as a handful of master’s programs in subjects ranging from aviation to women’s and gender studies to digital art and design. Teaching is split into the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the Teacher’s College, the Honours College and Graduate School.

The HUS campus is in the town of Arkadelphia with brick buildings surrounding open, manicured spaces. The campus is home to the academic, administrative and residential facilities which make up the HSU as well as the Student Recreation centre, swimming pool and the Carpenter-Haygood Stadium where the university football team, known as the ‘Reddies’ play. There are also coffee shops and cafes on campus where students can meet up and study or just pass the time between lecturers.