University of Central Arkansas

The 2006 Miss UCA Scholarship Pageant will be at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 4 at Reynolds Performance Hall.

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

The ArkaText Literary Festival, a celebration of Arkansas writers, will be held the week of Feb. 27 through March 3 at the University of Central Arkansas. The annual festival, sponsored by UCA?s Department of Writing and Speech, features writers with Arkansas ties who give public readings and present public lectures on the craft of writing.

This year?s festival features nonfiction writer Mel White, fiction writer Carol Ann Fitzgerald, and poet Clayton Scott. Faculty and student readings are also scheduled.

All events are free and open to the public.

The UCA Staff Senate is now accepting nominations for the annual UCA Employee of the Year awards. Awards will be presented at the Service Awards Program on April 25.

This year there are three options for nominating staff based on the staff person's classification status. Any classified or non-classified full-time UCA employee with two years of continuous service as of Dec. 31, 2005, is eligible to be nominated by faculty, staff, students or alumni.

Maynard Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau Band will headline UCA's Toad Suck Jazz Daze, Feb. 24-27. Tickets for the concert on Monday, February 27, range from $12 (students 12 years and under) to $35 (general public, center orchestra). Group tickets are available as well. UCA students may receive one free ticket, UCA I.D. required at the Box Office.

The University of Central Arkansas Planetarium will host a show at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 1, in Lewis Science Center, Room 012.

The show includes a tour of the March 2006 sky and recent astronomy news. It is recommended for ages 10 and up. Admission is free. No admittance after 7p.m.

For more info, contact Scott Austin at (501) 450-5907.

Applications are now available for University Women?s annual book scholarships for non-traditional female students.

University Women will award three $200 book scholarships to non-traditional women students, who can demonstrate a need for financial assistance. Applicants should be at least 23 years old, currently enrolled at UCA, with a minimum overall GPA of 3.0.

University of Central Arkansas? Torreyson Library will participate in The Big Read, a national initiative in partnership with The Arkansas Center for the Book at the Arkansas State Library, The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Arts Midwest.

The program will encourage literary reading by asking communities to come together to read and discuss one book. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald has been chosen as the community novel for the state of Arkansas.

University of Central Arkansas alumnus Calvin White (?97, ?00) was recently awarded a research fellowship by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Independent filmmaker Ly Bolia will appear at the University of Central Arkansas Feb. 23-24 in conjunction with the Second Annual UCA Film Festival as part of the College of Fine Arts and Communication?s Visiting Artist Series.

Bolia will be screening some of his short films at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23 in Stanley Russ Hall, Room 103. He will also be a guest judge at the film festival. The festival will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24 in Stanley Russ Hall, Room 103.

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

Rick White, University of Central Arkansas Honors College alumnus, has been awarded a 2006-07 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. White was selected to represent Rotary District 6150 which includes Jonesboro, Little Rock, and most of eastern Arkansas.

Five University of Central Arkansas students recently earned Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) grants from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.

The students will work with UCA faculty on the following research projects:

Dr. Judith Plaskow, professor of religious studies at Manhattan College, will give a public lecture at UCA on Friday, Feb. 17. The title of the lecture is "Religious Freedom and Gay and Lesbian Rights."

Plaskow's lecture will explore the variety of religious positions on homosexuality and discuss the appropriate role of religious discourse in the making of public policy.

The University of Central Arkansas will celebrate International Week 2006, Feb. 13-17. The theme for this year?s cultural celebration is ?Crossing Cultural Boundaries.? A number of events during the week will focus on international education at UCA.

The following faculty recently received grants to aid in various research projects and programs:

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

The University of Central Arkansas has named John A. Gale as its first Chief Technical Officer. The office of CTO will work to set and prioritize technology goals, to establish and enforce technology protocols and to support the university?s strategic plans.