Alumni | Arts and Sciences | First Generation | Lion VoicesFebruary 05, 2026

Tracie Griffith’s Unretirement – Putting Students First

Written By: Ian Silvester

After more than 20 years of teaching in Van Buren and Alma school districts, Tracie Griffith retired from the classroom. But in 2018, after leaving teaching behind, she realized something was missing: Her students. 

“I realized I’m not done just because I’m retired,” she said, pointing to her heart. “There’s something here that I can do to still make a difference.”

Griffith’s story at UAFS began back in 1991. As a first-generation student, UAFS—then Westark Community College—was close to home and provided her with the opportunity to earn her associate’s degree and then remain on campus to complete her bachelor’s in education through Arkansas Tech University.

The opportunity to return to UAFS as an administrative specialist for the mathematics department in 2025 not only fulfilled her passion for working with students again but also gave her the chance to give current students the same feeling of support she’d experienced more than 30 years earlier.

“I hope that when students come here, and they make contact with me, they think that there’s somebody that’s in their corner,” Griffith said. “That’s one thing I got from Westark when I was here.”

And she’s able to do so in the heart of campus: the Math Science Building.

“I was blessed to be in this building,” she said. “Everyone who comes on campus has to come in this building because it’s the Math Science Building, and they have to cross my path. Usually it’s, ‘I don’t know where this room is’ or ‘I don’t know where that room is,’ but in the middle of that, there gets to be a bond that’s created with students.”

Through these connections, Griffith began to realize there was a need for a space students could call their own in the Math Science Building.

“We realized there are lounge spaces in the corners of the building, but they’re not really closed off, and they don’t have outlets for students. … Students said they needed outlets, computer tables, and a closed-off space. Some of them need to take a nap because they were here all day. They might need a quiet space to just sit or a place to collaborate,” she explained.

As luck would have it, as Griffith searched for an empty space, she bumped into a math professor and some students who were already working on a proposal for such a place. The group came together and opened the Math Science Study Lounge, located in room 239.

“If the building is open, the room is open,” she beamed.

Here, students can find some snacks, computers, outlets, a printer, and areas to collaborate on projects. Additionally, there is a couch just big enough to lie down on, and a guitar free to strum.

“When you see students utilize this room that we’ve created, you know that you made a tiny difference in their journey. That tells me that I’m not done yet with education, and I plan to be here until I retire again,” Griffith said.

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Watch how Tracie makes an impact:

• Tags:
• Mathematics
• College of Arts and Sciences
• Lion Voices
• First Generation
• Alumni