Bumpers' papers to be opened to researchers

Former U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers' papers will be made available to researchers in a ceremony next week, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville said Tuesday.

Bumpers, a Democrat who served in the Senate from 1975-99, donated the papers, which document his roots in Arkansas and career in Washington, D.C., to the UA's special collections department in 2000.

“At more than 1,000 boxes, the Dale Bumpers Senatorial Papers is the second-largest manuscript collection held by the University of Arkansas Libraries and contains materials supporting research from agriculture to political science to business,” Timothy Nutt, head of the special collections department, said. “Senator Bumpers’ name has a storied reputation not only with the University of Arkansas, but within the state and the nation as a whole, and we are thankful he preserved his papers and made them available to the public so Arkansans can study his legacy for years to come.”

The collection will be unveiled at 3 p.m. March 19 in the Helen Robson Walton Reading Room in Mullins Library at UA. Guest speakers will include University of Arkansas Libraries Dean Carolyn Allen; UA Chancellor G. David Gearhart; and family representative former U.S. Sen. David Pryor.

Upcoming Events