University of Central Arkansas

The University of Central Arkansas Small Business Institute Program and its Small Business Advancement National Center (SBANC) received the Showcase Award at the recent annual joint meeting between the Small Business Institute and the United State Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship that was held in Tucson, Ariz.

The Department of World Languages is accepting applications for the Robert and Carol Adcock scholarship program for study abroad. These awards are given to UCA students in foreign languages who plan to teach the language after graduation.

Recipients must be enrolled in an academic course of study during the time of their travel. Scholarships may be awarded for the summer, semester or full academic year program.

Applications are available on the World Languages Web site. They are also available in the World Languages office.

For more details please contact the secretary or department faculty members. The deadline for all scholarship applicants is Feb. 17.

The UCA Office of Minority Student Services has scheduled the following events in commemoration of Black History Month:

UCA Theatre will present ?Wonder of the World? by David Lindsay-Abaire at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 13-17 on Centre Stage of the Snow Fine Arts Center.

This madcap comedy follows Cass, who, after leaving her husband, decides to head to the honeymoon capital of the world, Niagara Falls. With a list of things she?s always wanted to do, Cass ventures into a wacky world of Barbie dolls, pickle barrels, and giant jars of peanut butter while encountering a lonely tour-boat captain, a pair of eccentric amateur detectives, and a psychologist who moonlights as a clown. The play has been called ?insanely funny, inventive, and delightful? and is recommended for mature audiences.

Increasing Capabilities Access Network (ICAN) has awarded a $95,000 grant to the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) for the purchase of assistive technology (AT) to be used to educate and train occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists.

University of Central Arkansas students from the Honors College and three residential colleges partnered in 2005 to raise $5,000 for a gift Ark from Heifer Project International (HPI).

The residential colleges joined forces with the Honors College after discovering that both were planning to raise money for an Ark. This was the third year Honors had raised money for HPI, but the first year for State, Minton and Hughes residential colleges.

The Faulkner County Branch of the NAACP is accepting applications its 1st Annual Education Scholarship. This scholarship is intended to provide financial assistance to those who have successfully completed high school and who plan to continue or are continuing their education in an institution of higher learning. The $500 scholarship is awarded once a year to qualified applicants.

Scholarship applications are available in the Office of Minority Services located in the basement of the Student Center, Room 01A.

A completed scholarship application package must be returned to the Faulkner County Branch of the NAACP Scholarship Foundation, by Feb. 13. For more information, contact Director of Minority Services Wendy Holbrook at 450-3380.

Tickets to the Cirque Eloize production ?RAIN? are now available. The performance is a part of the Benefits Series, making two tickets available free to all UCA students, faculty, staff retirees and College Square residents. Cirque Eloize will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 and 15 at Reynolds Performance Hall.

Reynolds Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Faculty and staff may call the Box Office at 450-3265 to reserve their benefits tickets. UCA students must present their UCA I.D. at the Box Office in person to secure their benefits tickets.

This year's Academic Honors Convocation will be at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 23 in Reynolds Performance Hall. President Hardin, Provost Esteban, college deans, and departmental chairs will recognize superior academic achievement including the 2005 Outstanding University Students.

The UCA dance team competed in their first national competition Jan. 13-17 in Orlando, and brought home a trophy for 7th in the nation.

Portraits for the 2006 Scroll yearbook will be taken from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Jan. 23-27 in Student Center 214A.

Please bring a UCA ID. For more information, call (501) 450-5599 or e-mail scroll@uca.edu.

The Honors College High Table for Wednesday, Jan. 25 will be "Tai Chi: What It Is and What It Ain't.? The High Table will begin at 3 p.m. in the Honors College Forum, McAlister Hall, Room 302.

Memphis rock band LUCERO returns to UCA for the third time at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9 at Reynolds Performance Hall. Doors open at 7 p.m. Acoustic musician Adam Hambrick, and his band, will open the show.

The Youth Theatre of Central Arkansas is still registering participants for its upcoming acting classes for students in grades 3-12.

The Youth Theatre is a 15-year old program sponsored by UCA Theatre and the UCA Theatre Foundation. This unique program offers participants a professional educational experience in theatre which allows each student to explore his or her own creative talents. Students are instructed in the art of acting and learn the techniques and methods used by professional actors everywhere.

The following presentations, publications and accomplishments were submitted by UCA faculty and staff:

The Oxford American magazine has won the coveted Utne Reader Independent Press National Award for Best Writing.

In its designation, the Utne editors note: "This collector closes shop and, like a phoenix from the ashes, rises again with surprising regularity ? and thank goodness. The cultural coverage sharpens with each rebirth, and the impeccable prose continues to shed light on the anomalies of Southern living."

The magazine also received nominations in General Excellence and Cultural Coverage.

The UCA Staff Senate is now accepting applications for the following scholarships:

The UCA Department of Music presents a rare program of brass music at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 18 in the Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.

The opening reception of the Baum Gallery Spring Season of Exhibitions on Thursday, Jan. 19, will feature Visiting Artist Bruno Surdo of Chicago.

Surdo's slide lecture in the Art Lecture Hall will focus on his training as a professional artist, his artistic process and the creation of the painting in the Baum Gallery that commemorates the 9/11 World Trade Center catastrophe in New York City.

The following presentations, publications and accomplishments were submitted by UCA faculty and staff:

The following faculty have earned grant for current programs and projects:

UCA Theatre will present ?The Fantastic Adventures of the Castlebridge Kids? on Friday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. in the Reynolds Performance Hall. This energetic children?s show will be performed by UCA Theatre?s own traveling troupe of players, The Cadron Company, an annual outreach program that brings live theatre to the children of central Arkansas.

?The Fantastic Adventures of the Castlebridge Kids? has been written by the cast members of The Cadron Company. The story revolves around a group of young friends who have noticed that the new family on the block has some strange and unusual habits. Carson, Cate, Hank, Hayley and Max the dog set out to uncover the secrets behind their new neighbors and discover a few surprises along the way. The play is appropriate for all ages but is especially fun for children through grades 6.

The Conway Kiwanis Club and Faulkner County Child Care Association, in conjunction with the University of Central Arkansas, will sponsor the 14th Annual Faulkner County Child Care Conference on Saturday, Jan. 21. The conference will be held in the Burdick Business Administration Building.

Tap Dogs, the Australian theatrical featuring six men tapping through a construction site set, will perform at Reynolds Performance Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27 and 28. Two free tickets are available to each UCA faculty, staff member, and student upon request.

Benefits tickets are available during regular box office hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Faculty and staff members may call the box office for tickets (450-3265). Students must present their UCA I.D. in person at the box office.

A performance by Doc Severinsen and his Big Band, scheduled for Feb. 24 at Reynolds Performance Hall has been cancelled. Severinsen cancelled all tour dates for 2006.