Founded in 1872 in Batesville, Lyon College (then Arkansas College) is the oldest college in Arkansas. From its beginning, the College was co-educational and remained dedicated to a classical course of study into the early 20th century.
Over the next 100 years, the College grew in physical size, enrollment, and breadth of curriculum, The regular recognition that has come to Lyon’s faculty exemplified the College’s growing regional and national reputation during these years. Since 1989, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Support and Advancement of Education have recognized 14 members of the Lyon faculty as Arkansas Professors of the Year.
Dr. Melissa Taverner became the 19th president of Lyon College in 2022. Taverner worked with the Board of Trustees, as well as faculty and staff, to expand Lyon College’s mission statement to offer select professional programs. Under her direction, the College began developing plans for proposed veterinary and dental schools located in central Arkansas.
Under the leadership of Founding Dean Burke Soffe, the Lyon College School of Dental Medicine achieved a monumental feat in 2025, earning initial accreditation from the Commission on Dental Accreditation and becoming the first ever dental school in the state of Arkansas.