Ground broken on STEM-focused university dubbed Bentonville Institute of Technology

BENTONVILLE — Ground was broken Friday for a STEM-focused university at the site of the former Walmart Home Office.

School officials also announced the institution’s official name: the Bentonville Institute of Technology.

“Bentonville Institute of Technology captures the essence of who we are: a technology-focused university rooted in one of the nation’s most innovative communities,” David Mazyck, the institute’s president and founder, said in a news release about the groundbreaking and naming. “The name reflects our belief that the next generation of technological advances can emerge from the heartland of America through an institution rooted in education, collaboration and innovation.”

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

In 2025, Steuart and Tom Walton announced a vision to reimagine STEM education through the founding of a new university in their hometown of Bentonville, the release states. Multiple members of the Walton family are supporting this vision, including Alice Walton through the Alice L. Walton Foundation.

“Bentonville has a long history of turning bold ideas into real change,” Tom Walton said in the release. “Bentonville Institute of Technology is a chance to create a new model of education, one built for the world students are entering, with deep industry engagement from day one.”

Institute leaders envision the campus as a gateway for companies, entrepreneurs and innovators to engage directly with students, helping create talent pipelines, incubate new ideas and drive long-term economic growth, the release states.

“Bentonville Institute of Technology represents another transformational investment in Northwest Arkansas and adds to the strong educational options in our region,” Nelson Peacock, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council, said Friday. “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.”

Mazyck, who spent nearly two decades in higher education at Penn State University and the University of Florida before coming to Bentonville, said during a panel discussion Thursday that the opportunity to turn technical ideas into real-world applications is familiar.

“It was (at Penn State and Florida) where I started several manufacturing companies, and that was because I wanted to create high-paying jobs in these technical fields,” Mazyck said. “But what I really enjoyed and what was amazing to see (was ideas) go from napkins to manufacturing.”

Bentonville Institute of Technology expects to welcome its first undergraduate class of approximately 300 students in August 2029 and eventually grow to approximately 1,500 undergraduate students and 500 working professionals.

During the institute’s initial years of operation, tuition is expected to be fully covered, according to the release.

“There is something especially fitting about the Bentonville Institute of Technology being built on a site where ideas once helped change an entire industry,” Mayor Stephanie Orman said. “As Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas continue to grow, the institute will help expand educational opportunity and develop the talent our region needs while carrying forward a culture of innovation that has long defined our community.”

Earlier this year, the institute announced the selection of BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, an architecture and urban design firm led by Bjarke Ingels, to plan and design the campus. The master plan integrates the institute with Bentonville’s network of parks and public spaces, creating a campus that connects downtown with surrounding green spaces, according to the release.

The campus’s first phase will include approximately 444,000 square feet of academic, residential and innovation space, anchored by three primary facilities: an academic building, student residences and a makerspace. Together, these spaces are designed to support the institute’s mission of preparing students to thrive in an era shaped by AI and rapid technological change, the release states.

The institute will be part of the mixed-use development planned for the former Walmart Home Office site, where Sam Walton had his final office.

“Our grandfather’s curiosity drove everything he did,” Steuart Walton said in the release. “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.”

Those involved in the design and construction of Bentonville Institute of Technology include:

Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, architect of record.

Crossland Construction, general contractor.

Walter P Moore and Henderson Engineers, engineering consultants.

EDSA, leading landscape architecture and planning.