University of Central Arkansas

Rennie M. Gallo, who graduated last month from the University of Central Arkansas, is among 34 students in the United States to receive a graduate scholarship from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

"Everyone at UCA is very proud of Rennie for her tremendous academic accomplishments," said UCA President Lu Hardin. "This is one of the most selective and prestigious awards in the world, on a par with the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships, and Rennie is in a very elite group of students. She continues a strong tradition of academic excellence at UCA."

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation graduate scholarship is one of the most valuable academic awards of its kind. It covers educational expenses, including tuition, living expenses, required fees, and books, and can be worth as much as $50,000 per year for a maximum of six years.

Gallo is only the second Arkansas recipient of the scholarship since it was created seven years ago.

"I don't have a doubt in my mind that I could not have come this far without the people who supported me at UCA," said Gallo, a native of El Progreso, Honduras. "The people there have big ideas and are not afraid to think of the larger picture, and that has inspired me to pursue different options and new opportunities."

Gallo was a student in the UCA Honors College, and she earned a bachelor of science degree in health sciences with an emphasis in health services administration. She will begin her graduate studies this fall at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where she will seek a master's degree in public health (MPH).

In recent years, UCA students have won several of the most prestigious academic awards, including a Rhodes Scholarship (Rhett Martin, 2002), a Goldwater Scholarship (Shannon Palmer, 2005), a Truman Scholarship (Lisa Screeton, 1997), and a Rotary Ambassador Scholarship (Anna-Kate Mayhew, 2005).

The UCA Honors College this year marks its 25th anniversary as UCA celebrates the 100th year since its founding. It was one of the first honors colleges established in the nation, is one of the most fully developed honors colleges, and is one of only a handful of degree-conferring honors colleges.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation established in 2000 through the will of Jack Kent Cooke, who owned the Washington Redskins football team. Its mission is "To help young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education."

http://www.jackkentcookefoundation.org

The University of Central Arkansas today announced the opening of the UCA Community Language School under the auspices of the UCA Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures within the College of Liberal Arts.

"With no foreign language education currently available in local elementary schools, the UCA Community Language School aims to fill an educational gap by providing children with instruction appropriate to their level of development," said Dr. Phillip Bailey, Chair of the UCA Department of World Languages. "We all know that we should be starting foreign language education earlier than high school because children are great language learners."

UCA President Lu Hardin approved the new after-school program to provide an important public service to Central Arkansas children, who will be able to learn Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish through language lessons offered in Irby Hall on the UCA campus. Classes will be designed to meet the needs of younger students, with groupings for children in kindergarten through second grade, third and fourth grades, fifth through seventh grades, and seventh and eighth grades.

Sera Streiff-Vena, who began her own foreign language studies as a child in the fourth grade, will be the director of the new Community Language School. Streiff-Vena teaches international students in UCA's Intensive English Program and has a wealth of experience working with youth.

Introductory courses will be offered during the 2007-08 school year, and program participants will have the opportunity to continue in a progressive sequence of lessons. Classes begin on Sept. 17 and will consist of two 30-minute sessions per week for ten weeks.

More information is available at http://www.uca.edu/wlan or 501-450-3168.

Current and former students of the University of Central Arkansas were among the top contenders in the 2007 Miss Arkansas pageant, including the winner, Katie Bailey, who was crowned in Hot Springs on Saturday night.

Bailey, the new Miss Arkansas, is enrolled at UCA, where she is a candidate for a Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA).

This year's First Runner-Up, Chanley Painter, graduated from UCA last month. In fact, four of the top-10 finalists were UCA students or graduates: Bailey, Painter, Sarah Slocum and Ashlen Batson.

Of the 44 total contestants in the 2007 Miss Arkansas pageant, 14 were UCA students or graduates, accounting for 31 percent of the total, and representing various regions of the state. They included:

Cassie Jo Sanderlin - Miss Ashley County
Lauren Wilson - Miss Batesville
Sarah Slocum - Miss Conway
Chanley Painter - Miss Diamond Lakes
Alicia Haflich - Miss Heart of the Ozarks
Brittany Foster - Miss Johnson County
Erin Kay - Miss Lake Dardanelle
Rebekah Gardner - Miss Metro
Ashlen Batson - Miss Red River Valley
Jennifer Lynn - Miss Spirit of Arkansas
Dawn Hughes - Miss Texarkana
Jamie Simpson - Miss UCA
Katie Bailey - Miss South Arkansas
Kyla Horton - Miss North Central Arkansas

UCA graduate Eudora Mosby won the 2005 Miss Arkansas Pageant and went on to be a top-10 finalist in the Miss America Pageant.

University of Central Arkansas President Lu Hardin today announced his appointment of Keith Atkinson to be interim provost while a national search is conducted to fill UCA's top academic position.

"Keith will provide continued progressive leadership as interim provost during the search process," Hardin said. "I appreciate Dr. Atkinson's willingness to serve during this critical selection period, and I will engage all constituencies during this process."

"I am pleased that President Hardin has confidence in me, and I look forward to continuing the outstanding academic tradition at UCA," Atkinson said.

Atkinson has been UCA's associate provost since January. He arrived at UCA in July 2001 to be chairman of UCA's accounting department and a professor of accounting. Previously he was chairman of the division of accounting and computer information systems at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss. Atkinson holds doctorate degrees in accountancy and economics from the University of Mississippi, as well as an MBA and a BBA from the same institution.

The current UCA provost, Dr. Gabriel Esteban, will depart UCA next month to become the new provost at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

Hardin decided to appoint Atkinson as interim provost after consultation with Esteban and meetings with Dr. Ed Powers, president of the UCA Faculty Senate.

Hardin also consulted with Powers and others before naming an official committee to conduct the national search for a permanent UCA provost. Members of the committee are:

Roy Whitehead, Chair of Search Committee, Professor, College of Business
Barbara Anderson, Executive Vice President
Tammy Benson, Associate Professor, College of Education
Haley Heath, President, Student Government Association
Art Lichenstein, Director of Library
Bryan Massey, Professor, College of Fine Arts and Communications
Ed Powers, President, Faculty Senate and Associate Professor, College of Liberal Arts
Nancy Reese, Chair of Physical Therapy, College of Health and Behavioral Sciences
Larry Robinson, Dean, College of Education
Steve Runge, Chair of Biology, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Carol Daves, Ex-Officio, Associate for Administration, Office of the Provost
Willie Hardin, Ex-Officio, Associate Vice President, Academic Development

The University of Central Arkansas today announced the names of 882 students who qualified for the undergraduate Presidential Scholars List based on their academic performance during the 2007 Spring semester.

"Qualifying as a UCA Presidential Scholar is a remarkable achievement, because it requires a perfect grade point average," said UCA President Lu Hardin. "We are proud that so many UCA students are performing at such a high level, and that is a testament to their hard work and the supportive learning environment on campus."

Recognition as a UCA Presidential Scholar requires the achievement of a 4.0 grade point average with a minimum course load of 12 credit hours.

The UCA Presidential Scholars List is compiled and certified by the Division of Undergraduate Studies under the leadership of Associate Provost and Dean Sally A. Roden.

The full list of Spring 2007 UCA Presidential Scholars is available here.

The University of Central Arkansas today announced the names of 1,462 students who qualified for the undergraduate Dean's List based on their academic performance during the 2007 Spring semester.

"The impressive number of UCA students qualifying for the Dean's List is an indication of the high level of academic commitment and achievement at UCA," said UCA President Lu Hardin. "It reflects not only the hard work of the students, but also the contributions by faculty and staff toward promoting a healthy learning environment at UCA."

Recognition on the UCA Dean's List requires the achievement of at least a 3.5 grade point average with a minimum course load of 12 credit hours.

The UCA Dean's List is compiled and certified by the Division of Undergraduate Studies under the leadership of Associate Provost and Dean Sally A. Roden.

The full Spring 2007 UCA Dean's List is available here.

William H. Friedman, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems, last month presented a paper titled "Payoff Matrices: New Techniques, New Views," at the Hawaii International Conference on Business. The paper systematically categorizes certain novel techniques of normative decision making according to the different emphases each places on types of payoffs, anticipated gains/losses, enhanced expected value theory, time to realize gains, subjective degree of optimism/pessimism and using probabilities as criteria instead of payoffs. Further, it contributes new elements to these techniques, such as delight that you did not receive the minimum payoff (analogous to regret that you did not receive the maximum payoff) and a proposed "moderate expectations" method. Finally, matrices involving possibility theory and fuzzy payoffs are proposed as decision tools.

Julie Jefferson and Stacey Stephens from UCA's Department of Physical Therapy recently presented a poster titled "Clinical instructor's preference of student evaluation tools during clinical affiliations" at the 2007 Combined Section Meeting of American Physical Therapy Association in Boston, Mass. At the same meeting, Margaret McGee and Nancy Reese, also from UCA's Department of Physical Therapy, presented a poster titled "Reliability of gait and balance measures in children with spastic cerebral palsy."

University of Central Arkansas alumnus Raymond Simon, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, will deliver the College of Education's Centennial Lecture next Tuesday, June 19 at noon in the Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center on the UCA campus.

"We are honored that our friend and distinguished alumnus Ray Simon is returning to UCA to deliver the Centennial Lecture for the College of Education," said UCA President Lu Hardin. "Dating back to its previous role as Arkansas State Teachers College, UCA has a historic mission to education that continues to this day. What better way to celebrate our history and our future than with a lecture by a UCA graduate who is a national leader in education."

Simon was honored as UCA?s distinguished alumnus in 2006.

"It is quite fitting that Secretary Simon deliver the College of Education Centennial Lecture," Dr. Larry A. Robinson, dean of the College of Education, said. "The University of Central Arkansas has historically played a vital role in preparing educators throughout Arkansas and the region. Mr. Simon's presentation will assist the College in honoring our past legacy and our commitment to preparing educators."

Simon is the third speaker in UCA's Centennial Lecture series, in which each college presents a special guest lecturer to celebrate UCA's 100th anniversary. More information and a full calendar is available at www.uca.edu/100.

Also on June 19, UCA's College of Education will host its first annual Leadership Institute for area educators. (See separate press release.)

The College of Education at the University of Central Arkansas will host its first annual Leadership Institute for area educators next Tuesday, June 19 in the Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center on the UCA campus.

The Institute is the kick-off event for the College of Education's Leadership Initiative, which is designed to prepare teachers in UCA's service area for educational leadership. School superintendents and principals nominated teachers in their districts for the Initiative, which carries a fellowship award in curriculum and instruction, school leadership, or school counseling.

"The College of Education is pleased to host this inaugural event on leadership," said Dr. Larry A. Robinson, dean of the College of Education. "This is an ongoing initiative to support and assist school districts in developing their leadership potential."

Speakers for the event include Dr. Ken James, director of the Arkansas Department of Education; Dr. Jim Rollins, superintendent of Springdale Public Schools; and Dr. Brent Snow, chair of the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology at the University of West Georgia.

Also on June 19, the College of Education will present its Centennial Lecture featuring Raymond Simon, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. (See separate press release.)

Participating school districts are Bauxite, Beebe, Benton, Bryant, Cabot, Clinton, Conway, East End-Bigelow, Greenbrier, Guy-Perkins, Heber Springs, Little Rock, Mayflower, Morrilton, Mount Vernon-Enola, Nemo Vista, North Little Rock, Perryville, Pulaski County Special, Vilonia, and Wonderview.

The full schedule for the Leadership Institute is as follows:

The University of Central Arkansas has been selected as one of 42 two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United States and Puerto Rico to receive a 2007 HP Technology for Teaching grant, which is designed to transform teaching and improve learning in the classroom through innovative uses of technology.

UCA is the only Arkansas institution to receive the award.

During the 2007-2008 academic year, HP Technology for Teaching grant projects will impact more than 6,000 higher education students. The University of Central Arkansas will receive an award package of HP products and a faculty stipend valued at more than $68,000.

Each of the HP Technology for Teaching grant recipients will use HP wireless Tablet PCs to enhance learning in engineering, math, science, or computer science.

UCA is applying the grant by redesigning courses in which students will use mathematical software, such as XThink?s MathJournal, which is specifically designed for the interactive capabilities of a Tablet PC, to investigate several different mathematical concepts visually under the direct guidance of the faculty instructor. The goal of the grant is to determine which capabilities of the Tablet PC improve student learning and how to incorporate this technology within course instruction most effectively.

"We are excited about using HP?s Tablet PC technology to transform the instruction within upper division mathematics courses," said UCA mathematics professor Dr. Clarence Burg, the principal investigator for this grant. "Dr. Long Le and I will use the graphical capabilities along with other mathematical software in a redesigned Differential Equations course and a redesigned Calculus III course. Since these math courses are highly visual and involve two and three-dimensional concepts, the graphing capabilities should allow for much greater student comprehension of these concepts. Dr. Ramesh Garimella will use the interactive capabilities to enhance student evaluation and learning within Abstract Algebra, as the students learn the art of mathematical proofs. Dr. Jean McGehee will lead the evaluation effort to determine which teaching methods enabled by the Tablet PC are most effective. We believe that the students will enjoy using the Tablet PCs and that their learning experience will be significantly enhanced."

"All of us in the department are very excited about the HP grant award," said Dr. Ramesh Garimella, chair of UCA's Department of Mathematics and also a Co-PI of the project. "This is the first time we have ever received a grant of this type. I believe the HP tablet PC technology will enhance the student/instructor interaction and will be of great help not only for the undergraduate programs but also for the graduate programs in the Department."

In 2007, HP is awarding 172 K-12 public schools and two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United States and Puerto Rico more than $7 million in mobile technology, cash and professional development as part of its 2007 HP Technology for Teaching grant program. Since 2004, HP has contributed a total of $36 million in HP Technology for Teaching grants to more than 650 schools worldwide. During the past 20 years, HP has contributed more than $1 billion in cash and equipment to schools, universities, community organizations and other nonprofit organizations around the world.

"HP empowers students and teachers to succeed through innovative uses of technology and training," said Sidney Espinosa, director, Philanthropy Program, HP. "We invest in schools to increase educational attainment and contribute to the development of a skilled, diverse workforce in the future."

More information about the 2007 HP Technology for Teaching program and grant recipients is available at www.hp.com/go/hpteach.

The University of Central Arkansas will host a We the People: Citizen and Constitution Institute June 11-12, 2007 on the campus of UCA. This program will be funded by a grant from the Center for Civic Education. The institute offers educators professional development credits and all expenses including meals, room and board and teaching materials at no cost.

This institute is designed for K3-12 educators who teach civics and government either as a specific course or as part of another subject. Its purpose is to enable teachers to become more effective in teaching civics by providing the tools needed for a deeper understanding of the U.S. Constitution. The institute will follow an on-campus format where participants will reside on campus while completing this intensive two-day training course. Incorporated into basic instruction will be presentations by scholars with expertise in civics education with emphasis on the U.S. Constitution, panel discussions, field trips, and lesson plan projects - all to meet the standards and guidelines as set by the Center for Civic Education. Spearheading this program will be Dr. Jeff Whittingham Associate Professor from the Department of Middle / Secondary Education and Instructional Technologies.

Topics will include: the historical and philosophical foundations of the American political system, the creation of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, roles of the citizen in democracy and the values and principles of the Constitution that shape American institutions and practices.

Graduate credit is available for this institute. Visit the Academic Outreach website for a brochure at http://www.uca.edu/aoep; Click Professional Development; We the People. For more information, contact Melanie Watson at 501-450-5275 or melaniesw@uca.edu . This is another Academic Outreach program-providing opportunities for educators in Arkansas.