A new STEM-focused university in Bentonville names its founding president

Members of the Walton family announced the appointment of Dr. David Mazyck as inaugural president of the new STEM-focused university being built in Bentonville, Arkansas.

The residences seen from below, faceted terracotta bays stepping across the facade above a timber-lined underpass. — Rendering: Bjarke Ingels Group

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Members of the Walton family have announced the appointment of Dr. David Mazyck as the inaugural president of a new STEM-focused university in Bentonville, Arkansas, created to prepare students to succeed in an era shaped by artificial intelligence and rapid technological change.

Dr. Mazyck joins from The Pennsylvania State University, where he served as Professor and Head of the School of Engineering Design and Innovation — a multidisciplinary academic unit dedicated to experiential, hands-on education at scale.

He will oversee the planning and formation of the non-profit, business-infused university, which will embed artificial intelligence across its academic programs, teaching methods, and institutional operations to help students create real-world value. The university intends to welcome its first class of students in 2029.

“Dr. Mazyck brings the imagination, intellectual rigor, and builder’s instinct to create something genuinely new in higher education.”

— Steuart Walton

Built on the site of the former Walmart Home Office

First announced in May 2025, the university will be located on the site of the former Walmart Home Office — a place that has shaped how the modern world moves goods, makes decisions, and works at scale. The appointment marks a milestone in the vision championed by Tom Walton and Steuart Walton to reimagine STEM education for the next generation of innovators, builders, and entrepreneurs.

Multiple members of the Walton family are supporting the vision, including Alice Walton through the Alice L. Walton Foundation.

What comes next

Planning is underway across four concentrations — mobility, robotics and automation, health systems, and energy systems — delivered in eight-week terms across a three-year degree. Institutional naming, accreditation pathway specifics, tuition, and admissions criteria remain in active development.

First degree-seeking cohort: 2029
Non-credit courses for certificate earners and high school students: expected 2028
Campus: Bentonville, Arkansas, on the site of the former Walmart Home Office

Media inquiries: hello@bentonvilleinstitute.tech