Arkansas education leaders celebrate groundbreaking of STEM-focused university at former Walmart HQ

Click above to listen to guests speak at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Bentonville Institute of Technology on Oct. 2, 2026.

A new STEM-focused university being built on the site of Walmart’s former headquarters in Bentonville aims to create a new model of higher education, officials announced during a groundbreaking ceremony Friday. 

Steuart and Tom Walton, grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton, announced plans for the university focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics last year. 

The Bentonville Institute of Technology will feature “a modern, flexible, and accessible model that combines STEM education with business, artificial intelligence, and real-world application,” according to a press release. 

David Mazyck, a former professor and head of Penn State’s school of engineering design and innovation, will serve as Bentonville Institute of Technology’s inaugural president. Mazyck said the new school is needed to fill a gap in STEM education. 

“Universities can produce technically capable graduates, but technical capability alone is no longer enough,” he said. “The people who create meaningful impact must also know how to identify the right problems, understand human needs, work across disciplines, exercise judgment, communicate complex ideas, understand how value is created and turn ideas into solutions that actually work in the world.”

The nonprofit, “business-infused institute,” will embed artificial intelligence throughout its programs to help prepare students for a world full of rapid technological changes, according to the release. 

The school is expected to welcome its first undergraduate class of approximately 300 students in 2029, and eventually grow to around 1,500 undergrads and 500 working professionals. Tuition is expected to be fully covered during the institute’s initial years, according to the release.  

The project is backed by multiple members of the Walton family, including Alice Walton through her foundation. Alice, the daughter of Sam and Helen Walton, has supported the creation of multiple projects in Bentonville over the last 15 years, including an art museum, medical school and healthcare campus. 

The first phase of Bentonville Institute of Technology’s campus will include more than 400,000 square feet across three facilities — an academic building, student residences and a makerspace, according to the release. 

The institute will be part of a mixed-use development planned for the former Walmart Home Office site. The global retailer’s new headquarters, located just over a mile east of its former home, began opening buildings on its new campus last year.

Tom Walton said the university’s 64-acre site is located near downtown so students can seamlessly integrate with the community. The hope is to build a new neighborhood over time that will include office buildings, a variety of housing, a new hotel and another town square, he said. 

“What we’re going to do to change the way the model could be for higher education is going to be outstanding,” he said. 

Though it will be a few years before the university opens, the institute’s leaders will help educate Bentonville students in the coming months. Debbie Jones, Bentonville School District superintendent, said teachers and leaders have worked with Mazyck’s team to develop a university-level curriculum that will be taught in the district next semester. 

“Together our teams have dreamed big, creating rare and transformative STEM opportunities for both high school and college-level students,” Jones said.