[1] During the years of World War II, the enrollment decreased to the point that the board of trustees decided to find a tenant for the facilities.

From January 1944 through May 1945, the United States Navy leased the full campus for operating a Primary School in their Electronics Training Program.

During the past decade, the university's supporters helped increase the school's endowment by 284 percent, contributing more than $100 million for academic programs, scholarships, faculty and staff benefits, and facilities.

[1] In 1998, U of O received the largest single monetary donation ever made to a private university in Arkansas: $39.5 million from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.

In 2014, the Raymond Munger Memorial Chapel at University of the Ozarks received a $2 million gift from Frances E. Wilson of Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a variety of renovations and improvements that would proceed until December 2015.

In accepting the gift, the board unanimously voted to express its appreciation to Wilson by renaming the building Munger-Wilson Memorial Chapel.

The sanctuary and exterior of the Chapel underwent a great deal of restoration and replacement of structural elements to preserve the historic look and spiritual feel of what is an iconic landmark in this area.

Hurie led a number of important initiatives during his tenure as president, including the drive to join the North Central Association of Colleges and universities.

During the presidency of Wiley Lin Hurie (1923–1949), Ozarks gained a favorable impression throughout the region for its relatively low tuition and fees, and it allayed local concerns about the risks of co-education by enforcing a strict code of moral conduct and discipline.

[11] Under the stewardship of Rick Niece, who began serving in 1997, funding helped propel Ozarks into the twenty-first century with multiple new faculty positions; several new buildings (including the $7 million Walker Hall, completed in 2002); and a stronger system of student recruitment, retention, and support.

Niece, who was named the university's 24th president in 1997, stepped down on June 30, 2013, after 16 years of dedicated service and leadership at the helm of the Clarksville, Ark., campus.

For an additional fee, students enrolled in the JLC receive a number of enhanced services designed to help them succeed in their college studies.