Law school should be challenging, and the difficulty is part of the success, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a 1975 U of A School of Law graduate, reminded first-year students during his orientation keynote speech. Hutchinson looks forward to more interaction with the students when he joins the law school faculty as executive in residence during the spring 2025 semester.
“It’s an exciting time to join our faculty as we celebrate our centennial year,” said Cynthia Nance, dean of the School of Law. “Governor Hutchinson’s professional career as an accomplished attorney and his political career as a United States representative, governor and presidential candidate make him an excellent addition to the law school community. We are thrilled for him to teach and to engage with the next generation of lawyers.”
As executive in residence, Hutchinson will teach a course on leadership in state and federal government and participate in continuing legal education and moot court programs. He looks forward to his interactions with the School of Law community.
“This is where it all began for me,” Hutchinson said about the School of Law. “To be here is an honor and exhilarating. To see the excitement of the students and their dedication to make a difference and pursue justice is inspiring.”
Hutchinson told the students that law school really started to make sense to him after he started working as a law clerk and encouraged them to explore the flexible career paths that a law degree provides.
Hutchinson is a former Republican candidate for president of the United States. He served as the 46th governor of the State of Arkansas, and in his last election, he was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote, having received more votes than any other Republican candidate for governor in the state’s history.
His career in public service began when President Ronald Reagan appointed him as the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation for the Western District of Arkansas. In 1996, he won the first of three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his third term in Congress, President George W. Bush appointed Hutchinson to serve as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and later as the nation’s first undersecretary of Homeland Security for border protection. His experience established him as a national resource for his expertise on trade, energy, national security and education. Hutchinson was invited to the White House several times to join discussions about health care, Medicaid and education issues.
While governor, he was successful in securing over $700 million per year in tax cuts, safeguarding the retirement pay of veterans from state income tax, shrinking the size of state government, creating over 100,000 new jobs and leading a national initiative to increase computer science education. As a candidate for president, Hutchinson was an advocate for balancing the federal budget, energy production and enhanced border security. He served as chairman of the National Governors Association with an initiative focused on expanding computer science literacy.
Hutchinson has also distinguished himself with a long law career. He has tried over 80 major jury trials from prosecuting terrorists to leading the defense in cases ranging from espionage to human trafficking.
Having grown up on a small farm in Gravette, he is a graduate of Bob Jones University and the U of A School of Law. He and his wife, Susan, have four children and seven grandchildren.
About the University of Arkansas School of Law: The law school offers a competitive J.D. and is home to the nation’s first LL.M. program in agriculture and food law. Led by nationally recognized faculty, the school offers students pro bono work, live client clinics, public service fellowships, competitions, and much more. Students also benefit from our location in one of the fastest growing, most livable, and economically vibrant regions in the U.S., and from our corporate externship partnerships with Fortune 500 companies. Our alumni have gone on to become judges, senators, and governors, and we serve communities throughout our state and nation through programs such as the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative. Our longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion is exemplified by the Six Pioneers, the first Black students to attend law school in the South. Follow us at @uarklaw.?
