Northwest Arkansas’ next generation of engineers, entrepreneurs and business leaders will have a new place to learn — on the site where Sam Walton helped build one of the world’s most influential companies.
The Bentonville Institute of Technology broke ground Oct. 2 at the former Walmart Home Office, unveiling its name and plans for a university that connects STEM education with business, artificial intelligence and hands-on learning. The institute expects to welcome its first class of approximately 300 undergraduate students in August 2029, with tuition expected to be fully covered during its initial years.
For Northwest Arkansas, the investment builds on the strength of the region’s educational institutions and creates new opportunities to attract talent, prepare students for changing industries and turn ideas into businesses.
“Bentonville Institute of Technology represents another transformational investment in Northwest Arkansas and adds to the strong educational options in our region,” said Nelson Peacock, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council. “As new technologies change how businesses operate, this deep connection between education and industry will strengthen our workforce and create more opportunities to build companies and careers here. It draws on our entrepreneurial history and will help shape our economy for years to come.”
The project dates to 2025, when Steuart and Tom Walton announced plans to establish a university in Bentonville. Its supporters include other Walton family members and Alice Walton through the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
Led by President David Mazyck, the institute is developing an approach that brings technical education together with business knowledge, communication and problem-solving skills. Plans call for students to work directly with companies and entrepreneurs, connecting what they learn to the challenges they will encounter in their careers.
Strengthening the connection between education and industry has long been a workforce priority for the Council. Its regional workforce intermediary advances that work by bringing employers, educators and community partners together to identify workforce needs and build clearer paths from education to careers. The Council looks forward to partnering with the Bentonville Institute of Technology and building on the work of educational institutions across Northwest Arkansas to help more people develop the skills employers need and pursue careers in the region.
For a regional economy built on companies that changed how people shop, move goods and produce food, those connections matter. Preparing students to apply new technologies can help existing businesses adapt while giving graduates the skills to start companies of their own. The institute’s planned programs for working professionals will extend those opportunities beyond undergraduate education.
The campus will also give new purpose to a site central to Bentonville’s history. Designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group in collaboration with Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, its first phase will include approximately 444,000 square feet across an academic building, student residences and a makerspace. Connections to parks and public spaces will link campus life with the surrounding community.
“Our grandfather’s curiosity drove everything he did,” Steuart Walton said in the institute’s announcement. “He walked his own stores and his competitors’ with a notepad and came back to this site with ideas that changed an industry. It’s fitting that this ground will now be home to students who share that curiosity and have a drive to build.”
The institute eventually expects to serve approximately 1,500 undergraduates and 500 working professionals. Its reach could extend well beyond those students. By bringing education and industry closer together, it can help Northwest Arkansas retain more talent, attract new ideas and give more people a reason to build their futures here.
Learn more at bentonvilleinstitute.tech.
