Arkansas Association of Public Universities (AAPU) Executive Director and former Arkansas Sen. Tim Wooldridge recently accepted an invitation to serve on the Board of Advisors for the Arkansas World Trade Center (ARWTC) in Rogers, Arkansas.
“We welcome Tim Wooldridge to the ARWTC Advisory board, said Dan Hendrix, president and CEO of the center. We appreciate his time and support in helping build a world class world trade center. His contribution will be an asset to our future endeavors in the advancement of global commerce within Arkansas.”
The University of Arkansas holds the license for the Arkansas World Trade Center. By being imbedded in the state’s flagship university, the ARWTC offers world class training for students in practical applications of international business through the leadership of the Sam M. Walton College of Business. The objective of the ARWTC, according to the organization, is to build a “one-stop” trade information hub with services for Arkansas’ businesses and international companies including:
• Latin America Trade Development
• Asia Trade Development
• Market Research
• Trade Show and Exhibition Space Trade Missions
• Trade Education Services
• Access to Government Agencies
• Meeting Venues
• Business Support Services
The mission of the ARWTC is to assist companies of small to medium-size in international trade and to educate Arkansas students in a global commerce. Arkansas companies, communities and students will benefit and economic development will be positively impacted by relationships established through global commerce.
The center opened its offices Jan. 15, 2007 and hosted ambassadors of Central American countries including Costa Rice, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic during its April 13, 2007 grand opening.
During his 16 years in the House and Senate, Wooldridge served on the Agriculture, Economic and Industrial Development Committee among others. Upon assuming the role of executive director of the AAPU in August 2007, Wooldridge made it his focus to serve as an advocate assigned to vocalize to policy makers, community leaders, and the public, the direct connection between higher education and economic development.
“I am delighted to work with the Arkansas World Trade Center because it is one of the few that has its origin in an institution of higher education,” Wooldridge said, referring to the center’s affiliation with the University of Arkansas.
Recognizing that the economy is shifting toward new technologies and knowledge-based jobs, Wooldridge’s vision is to establish the AAPU as one that cultivates partnerships and collaborative efforts between its member institutions and economic development-based organizations so that Arkansas can attract and grow its knowledge-based assets, research facilities, entrepreneurial startups and highly educated workers in order to gain a competitive edge over other states and leverage for economic development.
Member institutions of the AAPU include: Southern Arkansas University, Henderson State University, University of Central Arkansas, University of Arkansas System (Criminal Justice Institute, Archeological Survey, Clinton School of Public Service), University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, University of Arkansas at Monticello, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
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