A-State Alumni Association Names Its 2026 Distinguished Alumni

The Arkansas State University Alumni Association has named the three recipients of its 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award. It is the association’s highest honour, awarded for more than 40 years to graduates who show excellence in their careers, service to their communities and devotion to A-State.

This year’s honorees are Dr. Timothy D. Langford of Little Rock, Phillip T. Poston of Jonesboro and Dr. Billy Don Tiner of San Antonio, Texas. Recipients were chosen by the Alumni Association’s board of directors from nominations submitted by fellow alumni and supporters.

“The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes graduates whose accomplishments bring honor to Arkansas State University through professional achievement, service and leadership,” said Alumni Association President Natalie Rogers.

They will be recognised during Homecoming weekend, with an on-field presentation at halftime of the Red Wolves’ football game on Saturday 24 October against Georgia State.

Dr. Timothy D. Langford

A 1984 A-State graduate with a bachelor’s degree in zoology and pre-medicine. After earning his medical degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and completing a urology residency, he built his career at Arkansas Urology before becoming professor and chair of the Department of Urology at UAMS in 2021.

A former Red Wolves quarterback, he was an All-Southland Conference performer and the first recipient of the Terry Gwin Award, given annually to A-State’s top student-athlete. He was later inducted into the A-State Athletics Hall of Honor and Ring of Honor. He and his wife Terri made a major gift that established the Tim and Terri Langford Sports Medicine Center.

Appointed to the Arkansas State University System Board of Trustees in 2014 and reappointed in 2019, he is now a trustee emeritus.

Phillip T. Poston

A 1996 A-State graduate in marketing. For more than 27 years he has helped lead Hytrol Conveyor Company — one of Northeast Arkansas’s most influential manufacturers — where he sits on the board and serves as chief administrative officer, leading human resources, supply chain and automation, workforce development, academic partnerships and strategic planning.

He serves on boards including the Arkansas Research Alliance and the Jonesboro Economic Development Corporation. At A-State he has served on the College of Engineering and Computer Science Advisory Board and helped secure support for academic initiatives, scholarships and the university’s CREST initiative.

Dr. Billy Don Tiner

A 1972 A-State graduate in zoology. He earned his dental degree from the University of Tennessee and his medical degree from the University of Texas, becoming a nationally recognised oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

He has served as president of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, president of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and president of the International Association for the Advancement of Maxillofacial Surgery. He is a retired United States Navy captain with 25 years of military service.

His support for A-State includes an endowed scholarship honouring his parents for graduates of Pocahontas High School, a pledge for the North End Zone Football Operations Facility and a major commitment to the Baseball Stadium Renovation Project.

Why this matters if you are applying

The three stories share something worth noticing if you are weighing a degree abroad: each of them came back and funded the university with their own money — a sports medicine centre, an endowed scholarship, athletics facilities. That is how most scholarships and buildings at American universities come to exist.

An alumni network, in other words, is not a social nicety. It funds the scholarships you can apply for, staffs the advisory boards that shape your curriculum, and becomes your professional network after graduation. The A-State Alumni Association was founded in 1924, and the more than 1,200 international students from over 70 countries currently enrolled will join it.

• See scholarships for international students
• Learn more about Arkansas State University
• Read about Red Wolves athletics and Homecoming

Source: Arkansas State University, 3 September 2026 — astate.edu.