08/27/2026
It is with heavy hearts and profound sorrow that our department's faculty and staff share the news of the passing of our cherished friend and esteemed colleague, Dr. Mark Elrod, earlier this week after a short illness. In 2014, Mark came to our department after teaching political science courses at Harding University for 27 years. Over the past 12 years, Mark was an active and invaluable member of the Department of Government, Public Service, and International Studies (GPI), including coordinating the annual Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference at UCA and the department's commemoration of Constitution Day each September. Mark was a remarkably dedicated classroom instructor and key faculty advisor for the UCA Model United Nations student organization, including accompanying students to Model UN conferences each academic year. His impact on student experiential learning through the UCA MUN, the Washington Center, and his work at Harding University with study abroad set the high standard our department strives to meet each year for students across Arkansas. Mark’s influence reached far beyond our department; through his passionate teaching of US Government & Politics, he became an unforgettable part of many of our students’ academic journeys at UCA. His impact on students went above and beyond that of just a “college professor”, reaching the halls of Arkansas high schools with his 25-year service to Arkansas Governor’s School and his commitment to organizing the Arkansas Model United Nations (AMUN) conference every November at UCA for hundreds of high school students across the region.
Mark will always be fondly remembered for his ability to bring a smile to our faces with his sense of humor and, particularly, his "dad jokes." He was particularly admired for his trivia knowledge, which ranged from knowing the pet of every President in the White House (even Rebecca, the raccoon pet of President Coolidge) to sports, history, and pop culture. For every department celebration, Mark was in peak form for the theme, from his 1970’s Halloween costume as Richard Nixon to his winning “Ugly Holiday Sweater” featuring great white sharks wearing Christmas bells. You could always track Mark’s presence in the department office simply by following the laughs and smiles that he left in his wake. Mark was a proud father to his son, Alan, and he was ecstatic about the recent birth of his granddaughter, Maisie. Mark embodied the importance of citizenship and public service, serving in many capacities on and off UCA campus. In 2014, he was appointed by Governor Mike Beebe to the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission, on which he served until 2020. As a proud U.S. Navy veteran, Mark also served on UCA's veterans' affairs committee, which led campus efforts to commemorate Veterans Day each November and helped create the Veterans Resource Center on campus. We will greatly miss Mark's presence in the department, but the department will honor his life and legacy going forward.
Mark's memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 5, 2026, at Roller-Chenal Funeral Home in Little Rock. Visitation starts at noon, and the service starts at 2:00 pm.
