University of Central Arkansas

University of Central Arkansas President Lu Hardin and the UCA Board of trustees today broke ground on a new $18.1 million building that will be the new home of its College of Business.

The 82,000-square-foot facility will be completed by the beginning of the fall 2009 semester.

"The new College of Business building will be state-of-the-art, and one of its exciting features is that it will include several large lecture halls that will each be able to accommodate over 200 students," Hardin said. "When the building is complete, UCA's short-term classroom needs should be satisfied."

UCA this Saturday will present its Distinguished Alumnus Award to Dr. Steven Sanderson, president and chief executive officer of the Wildlife Conservation Society. The award will be presented during the 10 a.m. commencement ceremony.

UCA's Spring Commencement will take place this Saturday, May 3, and degrees will be conferred at three ceremonies.

The UCA Board of Trustees will hold a regularly scheduled meeting this Friday, May 2 at 2 p.m. in the Board of Trustees Conference Room in Wingo Hall on the UCA campus.

UCA President Lu Hardin, the UCA Board of Trustees and U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder on Friday, May 2 will participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new UCA College of Business building.

Ronald R. Hoy, the David and Dorothy Merksamer Professor in Biology at Cornell University, tonight at 6:30 p.m. will present the third annual Burgess Lecture in the Doyne Health Sciences Auditorium at UCA.

The title of Hoy's lecture is "Rhythm and Mode in the Acoustic Signals of Animals and Humans: Speculation on the Origins of Speech and Music." He will present several case studies of acoustic communication in various animals to illustrate how common features underlie vocal communication of all animals, including humans. From the study of animal communication sounds, Hoy will try to trace the origins of human speech and music.

UCA's Jewel E. Moore Nature Reserve this Saturday will host "Spring into Action: A Walk in the Nature Reserve," featuring trail walks guided by UCA biologists.

UCA students recently participated in a two-week trial of conservation program called "Who Needs Trays" at the Christian Cafeteria on campus.

The fourth annual UCA Film Festival will begin tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. in Stanley Russ Hall room 103 on the UCA campus.

The festival, which is free to the public, is jointly sponsored by UCA's Department of Mass Communication and Theatre and the UCA Film Club, and it includes three categories: Music Video, Documentary and Narrative.

"This year is looking to be one of the best years for our festival," said Joe Dull, assistant professor of digital filmmaking and co-coordinator with Bruce Hutchinson of this year's festival. "We've got a very talented group of students with a creative drive that is an inspiration to see."

Erica Hlebinsky, a communications supervisor with the UCA Police Department, recently received the Law Enforcement Hero award from the American Red Cross in Faulkner County for saving the life of a Conway man through her training as a dispatcher.