University of Central Arkansas

The Suzanne Harvey Nursing Graduate Scholarship Fund has been established through the UCA Foundation to endow a scholarship for graduate students in the Department of Nursing.

The scholarship was named in memory of the late Suzanne Harvey by her parents, Ray and Emogene Burns of Denver, Colo., and husband, David Harvey of Conway, chairman of the UCA Department of Writing and Speech. Suzanne earned a master?s degree in nursing from UCA in 1999. She had spent many years as a nurse in intensive care units, home health, and finally, as an advanced nurse practitioner with St. Vincent Health System in Morrilton, the Arkansas Center for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in North Little Rock, and Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.

The scholarship will be awarded to graduate students who enroll in the nursing program to become an advanced nurse practitioner.

David Harvey said nursing was more than a job for his late wife -- it was a calling. ?I know Suzanne would be proud to support a scholarship in nursing,? he said. ?Through this endowment, her passion for nursing will carry on, and in that, this family takes consolation.?

For information about how to donate to the Suzanne Harvey Scholarship Fund, contact the UCA Foundation at (501) 450-5288 or toll free 1-800-981-4426.

Are you going to Ruston, Louisiana this weekend for the UCA Bear football season opener against Louisiana Tech?

If so, the UCA Alumni Association and the UCA Athletics Office are hosting a "Wreck Tech" Tailgate Party on Saturday on the Louisiana Tech campus. The tailgate begins at 2 p.m., and admission is free.

Paige Reynolds, visiting assistant professor in the English department, has had her article entitled, "George Peele's The Araygnement of Paris and the Judgment of Elizabeth I," accepted for publication in the prestigious journal SEL (Studies in English Literature 1500-1900).

The University of Central Arkansas today is hosting the Fayetteville Shale Symposium, which is presented by Arkansas Business and UCA.

UCA is the logical place to convene a discussion about the Fayetteville Shale Play, because Conway is becoming the central launching point for this extraordinary activity in the Arkansas economy. Of course, the development presents great opportunities, as well as challenges. Contributors to the symposium will address both the opportunities and the challenges.

Sponsored by Southwestern Energy Co., BKD LLP, Chesapeake Energy Corp., First State Bank and U.S. Trust Bank of America Private Wealth Management, the symposium is taking place at UCA's Reynolds Performance Hall.

Click here for a full schedule of presentations, as well as information about each of the speakers.

UCA President Lu Hardin yesterday spoke to separate gatherings of UCA faculty and staff, in what has come to be known as his "State of the University" address.

Hardin praised both groups for their outstanding achievements and dedication to UCA. He updated them on his plan to slow enrollment growth and focus on infrastructure additions and improvements to accommodate the recent surge of additional students.

He also sounded a hopeful note about UCA's chances to host a presidential debate in 2008. A decision by the Commission on Presidential Debates is expected by mid- to late October.

Henry N. Rogers III, professor of English, published the article "'I Know Why You Have Come': the Art of Madame Max," in the most recent issue of the Philological Review (volume 33, number 2, Fall 2007). The article focuses on a character appearing in three novels by the Victorial novelist Anthony Trollope.

Rebecca Gatlin-Watts, Marsha Carson and Lauren Maxwell from the Departments of EFIRM and Marketing and Management in UCA's College of Business, recently presented, "You've Got Mail," a paper outlining successful global virtual teaming techniques. The presentation was given at the 10th International Conference of the American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences held in Honolulu earlier this summer.

The University of Central Arkansas recently celebrated, with a host of family, friends and former players, the endowment of an athletic scholarship fund named in honor of the late Dr. Cecil ?Red? Garrison, a beloved professor and coach.

Family and friends donated $25,000 to the UCA Foundation to endow a scholarship for student athletes. A standing-room only crowd joined Garrison?s widow, Thelma, in UCA?s Buffalo Alumni Hall as an endowment plaque was unveiled. The plaque will be placed among more than 75 others on the Donor Wall of Honor in the lobby of McCastlain Hall.

"The establishment of the Dr. Cecil 'Red' Garrison Athletic Scholarship is a true testament of the impact one person can have on so many lives," said Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Development Kelley Erstine. "Now, the memory of Dr. Garrison will live on as the scholarship named in his honor touches the lives of thousands of student athletes to come."

Garrison coached basketball, football and track at UCA during the 1940s and 50s. His men's basketball teams combined for a 154-81 record from 1949-58, and he led UCA to an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) state title in 1956 and an Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference title in 1957.

"Dr. Cecil 'Red' Garrison -- that name evokes endearment from so many people," said UCA President Lu Hardin. "His wife, Thelma, is equally loved and respected by the UCA community."

Thelma said her late husband would have been proud of the scholarship. "Cecil won lots of honors, but none of that compares to this, and all of you get the credit because you made this happen," she told the crowd.

From Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

"Several years ago, when University of Central Arkansas associate professor Sondra Gordy was researching student transfer records from the year that Little Rock high schools were closed, she found something unusual.

"The last names of Yada, Nakamura and Oishi were hardly typical for Little Rock students. So, Gordy contacted the three Japanese-Americans and learned that not only were they affected by the Lost Year, the year that Little Rock high schools were closed, but they also had also lived in internment camps during World War II.

"Gordy interviewed them and plans to include their stories in her coming book, Finding the Lost Year, which is being published by the University of Arkansas Press. It is due out in January 2008."

The University of Central Arkansas Theatre kicks off its 2007-08 season with "The Visit by Friedrich Durrenmatt," on October 1-5 in the Studio Theatre of the Snow Fine Arts Center. There is no admission charge, although tickets are required.

"The Pillowman" by Martin McDonagh will show October 25, 26, 31, and November 1, 2, at 7:30 pm in the Bridges/Larson Theatre (formerly Centre Stage) in the Snow Fine Arts Center. Tickets are $8 each and 2 free with a current UCA I.D.

The Arkansas Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) comes to Reynolds Performance Hall on November 6-10. Eight to ten colleges and universities from around the state will present the best collegiate theatre during the week-long festival. Out of state respondents will view the productions and select plays for consideration to appear at the Region VI festival in February 2008. Play titles, subject matter, schools attending, and curtain times will be available in late October on UCA Theatre?s web site at uca.edu/theatre. Admission to any of the KCACTF performances is free. Tickets are not required.

The Festival of One Act Plays will take place December 3-5 in the Bridges/Larson Theatre of the Snow Fine Arts Center. Two to three different one acts will be performed each evening, directed by the 2007 Directing Class and involving over 50 actors and crew. Play titles and subject matter will be available online at uca.edu/theatre beginning in mid-November. Admission is free and tickets are not required.

UCA Theatre?s own traveling troupe of players, The Cadron Company, will present the classic tale, The Clown Prince by William Hayden, on February 8, 2008 at 7:30 pm and February 9 at 2 pm in the Reynolds Performance Hall. Admission is free and tickets are not required.

A night of fun, laughter, and surprise is on tap on February 12-15 and 19-22, 2008 as UCA Theatre?s own improvisation troupe, The Flaky Biscuit Convention, bakes up an evening of totally unscripted improvisational theatre in the Bridges/Larson Theatre of the Snow Fine Arts Center. The fun begins at 7:30 pm each evening and audiences are welcome to attend more than one evening. Tickets are $8 each and 2 free with a current UCA I.D. Reservations are highly encouraged as all performances are expected to sell out.

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare will round out the season?s offerings. Production dates are April 9-11, 2008 at 7:30 pm in the Reynolds Performance Hall. Tickets are $8 each and 2 free with a current UCA I.D.

Tickets to all UCA Theatre performances can be purchased through UCA Ticket Central. Box Office hours are 10 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday. Reservations can be made by calling 501-450-3265 or toll-free 866-810-0012. The general public may also purchase tickets online at uca.edu/tickets.

UCA Theatre has been an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) since 1995 and is recognized for its professional, challenging and diverse theatre arts education program. It has consistently received honors and awards for its productions through the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). The program has also had three students win the Region VI Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship and perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and has had one national winner of the competition.

UCA and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) will resume their in-state football rivalry next year.

According to Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sports section:

"Athletic directors Brad Teague of Central Arkansas and Louis 'Skip' Perkins of UAPB confirmed Saturday that the schools have an oral agreement to play at War Memorial Stadium for two seasons beginning in 2008.

"In 2003, Central Arkansas and Arkansas-Pine Bluff began what was supposed to be an annual football game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, originally called the Capital City Classic, only to see the series stop after one game. ...

"The game will not be the season opener for either team and it will be a home game for UAPB both years.

"Whether it will be called the Capital City Classic has not been determined. ... A crowd of 13, 274 showed up in the rain for the first Capital City Classic on Sept. 11, 2003, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Central Arkansas defeated UAPB 42-28 after jumping out to a 35-7 third-quarter lead."

Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette also featured a front-page article in the Arkansas section about UCA's residential college program.

"UCA's faculty-in-residence program is almost unmatched among Arkansas' public, four-year universities, but it is increasingly common nationally," according to the article.

"At UCA, Sally Roden, associate provost and dean of undergraduate studies said, 'More and more schools are adopting this program, because... we're getting the results,' that show it improves student performance and retention. According to UCA, 77 percent of the freshmen living in one of its residential colleges in 2005 stayed in school in 2006, compared with 70 percent of all UCA freshmen. Further, UCA-provided statistics indicate students who live off-campus typically average a grade-point average of 2.0 on a scale of 4, while on-campus students average 2.5, and those in a residential college average 3.0. 'Research shows that if [students] have a connection with a faculty member [and other] students, they?re more likely to stay,' Roden said. 'If they?re successful, they?re going to be satisfied. If they?re satisfied, they?re going to stay.'"

Sara Mullally has been selected to receive Alpha Sigma Alpha?s national Outstanding New Member Award. Mullally was selected from more than 3,000 collegiate members from across the country to receive this award, which recognizes a new member's spirit and attitude during her first year of membership, her willingness to take on responsibilities within the chapter, evidence of growth and maturity, ability to work with other members of the chapter and potential for taking leadership roles in the chapter, college and community.

Mullally, a sophomore, has served on the fundraising committee, social committee and as the public relations chairperson for the Beta Gamma chapter and has held leadership positions in other campus organizations as well. Her campus and community activities include former vice president of Arkansas Student Association, secretary of Campus Dialogue, UCA Young Democrats, Arkansas College Democrats and Spanish club. Mullally is a member of the Student Government Association, where she served as freshmen class president and is currently serving as their sophomore class president.

Nationally, Alpha Sigma Alpha has 73 collegiate chapters and 71 alumnae chapters. More than 67,000 members are committed to promoting sisterhood, heritage and leadership.

A cover story in the new edition of the Arkansas Times credits UCA President Lu Hardin with rapid and dramatic progress toward achieving gender equity in faculty tenure and salaries.

Excerpt:

"Of Arkansas university presidents, Lu Hardin of the University of Central Arkansas at Conway is the most eager to talk about gender equity. When he was a professor himself (at Arkansas Tech), he wrote papers on Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination in athletics. The goal and the principles of Title IX carry over to the elimination of discrimination in the employment of faculty, he said.

"In a 2003 speech to the UCA faculty, after being hired as president in 2002, Hardin listed certain of his goals. One was to improve the lot of female faculty. According to UCA data, he's delivered. In the fall of 2003, the average salary of a female professor was 93.3 percent of a male professor's. In the fall of 2005, it was 94.5 percent. A female associate professor's salary went from 93.4 percent to 94.6 percent of a male's. A female assistant professor went from 97 percent to 99.9. Still not good enough, Hardin said, but he added that in all three ranks, the difference between female and male at UCA was less than the national average difference.

"More UCA women have gotten tenure under the Hardin administration. In 2002, 29.8 percent of the tenured faculty at UCA were women. In 2006, the percentage was 34. The national average was 35. ...

"Sondra Gordy of the history department and Franci Bolter of the writing department agreed there's been progress in gender equity at UCA. They said that some faculty members had received not only the across-the-board pay increases that everyone gets, but also merit increases, based on the recommendations of the department chairman and the dean of the college, and equity pay. A standing university committee on gender equity has been established, too."

Click here to read the full article.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) has awarded $74,060 to Dr. Victor Puleo, CFP?, Dr. John Bratton, and Dr. Mike Casey in the University of Central Arkansas College of Business, and to Dr. Sherry J. Roberts, an assistant professor in the Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University.

With the grant award, the UCA College of Business will establish a Personal Finance Institute and introduce in Spring 2008 a graduate-level training course for high school teachers in Arkansas to help them educate high school youth to create wealth, set financial goals and make informed financial choices.

Puleo, CFP?, Assistant Professor of Insurance and Risk Management and Director of the CFP Board Certified Financial Planning Program at UCA, explained the motivation behind the Grant. "The Personal Finance Institute is designed to meet the criteria set forth in Arkansas Act 42, legislation that recommended adding a required financial education course to state high schools," Puleo said. Act 42 was passed in 2004, but no funding was allocated to its support. The CFP Board grant funds a graduate course in Personal Finance designed for high school teachers who teach or would like to teach a course in personal finance. Its purpose is to enable teachers to become more effective in teaching personal finance by providing the tools needed for understanding personal finance, with an emphasis on the relevance to high school students and their families. The ultimate goal of this program is to improve the financial literacy of high school students in Arkansas."

"CFP Board believes this project will reach individuals who may not otherwise have access to financial planning assistance," said Tim Stifel, CFP Board's Manager of External Relations. "We expect UCA's College of Business project will not only help individuals in the immediate community, but also become a model to help others across the country reach similar communities."

"The Financial Planning Association of Arkansas is excited about the CFP Board's committment to increasing financial planning awareness and education in Arkansas Public Schools,? said Lester P. Matlock, President of the Arkansas Chapter of FPA.

The grant awards further CFP Board's mission to help Americans benefit from competent and ethical financial planning by giving financial support to projects that provide underserved populations with financial planning services and information. CFP Board is a non-profit professional regulatory body that awards CFP? certification to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements. CFP Board currently authorizes more than 55,000 individuals to use the marks CFP?, Certified Financial Planner? and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the United States.

Patricia Mounce, associate professor of Accounting, Donna Smith, assistant professor of Accounting, and Keith Atkinson, provost and professor of Accounting, recently received the Best Paper Award at the Academic Business World Conference in Nashville, Tenn. The paper, "Assurance of Learning: A Theoretical Approach to Balanced Scorecarding," has been accepted for publication in publication in a forthcoming edition of The Journal of Academic Administration in Higher Education.

Tim Bisping, assistant professor of economics in the College of Business, had an article accepted for publication in a future issue of Advances in Accounting. The paper ?A Further Inquiry into the Scholarly Productivity of Academic Accountants: Twenty Years of Evidence from the Classes of 1980-82? was co-authored with Dr. Ted D. Englebrecht of Louisana Tech University, Dr. Mary M. Anderson of the University of Southern Mississippi, and Dr. James R. Hasselback of Florida State University.

Joan Simon from the Department of Psychology & Counseling made three professional presentations this summer: ?Using a response to intervention (RTI) approach? Tier One: Universal screenings, frameworks, and benchmarks? to the Arkansas School Psychology Association summer conference; ?School based mental health in Clinton: Are we seeing progress?? to the Arkansas Mental Health in Education Association; and ?Teaming within a Response to Intervention (RTI) model? to the Russellville School District.

The Center for a Better South yesterday unveiled a new book of environmental ideas for Arkansas and Southern policymakers during a press conference in front of the Jewel Moore Nature Reserve on the UCA campus.

The book, "Getting Greener: Progressive Environmental Ideas for the American South," outlines 15 environmental policy recommendations for state and local leaders and suggests a dozen ways consumers can get greener today without any action by governments. Written by Arkansas law student Eddy Moore, it also provides a dozen ways that consumers can make their lives greener without government intervention. Click here to view the book for free.

In his welcome to South Carolina State Sen. Phil Leventis and Center for a Better South President Andy Brack, UCA President Lu Hardin underscored UCA's role as a leader on environmental issues and reiterated his commitment to keep the university on the cutting edge of technology and efficiency.

Also participating in the press conference were Glen Hooks, Associate Regional Representative for the Sierra Club; Rob Fisher, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Ecological Conservation Organization (www.ecoconservation.org); April Ambrose, Representative of the Arkansas Climate Awareness Project (www.arclimate.org), the Arkansas Environmental Education Association, and Executive Director and Board Chair of Arkansas Earth Day Foundation; and UCA faculty member Cliff Beacham, representing Faulkner County Supporters of Sustainable Communities.

Public artist Morton Brown, a University of Central Arkansas alumnus, has kicked off the eighth season of UCA?s Artists in Residence program with the Conway Community Mural project.

The Conway City Council appropriated $6,000 in January to help finance a city mural, which will be a historically-themed, 26 feet x 36 feet mural celebrating the relationship of UCA and the city of Conway. It will be located on the south side of Conway City Hall facing Simon Park.

Brown, 34, who grew up in Clinton, earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from UCA in 1996 and his Master of Fine Arts in painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia. From 2003-2006, he was program coordinator for The Sprout Fund?s Public Art Program in Pittsburgh. He is working with UCA art students on the mural, which will be unveiled Oct. 6 during a day-long celebration of the arts in Conway.

?One of the things that is new this year is we have two extended residencies,? said Gayle Seymour, associate dean of CFAC. ?Typically, they?ve been for a day or two, but Morton is here for six weeks and [violinist] Katie Lansdale will be here for two one-week periods.?

This is Brown?s third trip to Conway during UCA?s Centennial year. In the spring, he met with the UCA community and the public for ideas and feedback on the proposed mural design.

?The actual painting began last Monday [Aug. 13],? Seymour said. ?All kinds of students are involved, but there?s a core group of student artists working alongside Morton and other students in and outside of the art department who are helping with developing the Web site, publicity and other things. It?s a university-wide effort.?

As part of the residency, Brown will give an illustrated lecture Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. in McCastlain Hall room 143 about the progress of the mural. The lecture is free and open to the public.

?Another thing that?s exciting is we?re trying some alternative venues,? Seymour said. ?The Alloy Orchestra, which composes and performs sound effects for silent films, is going to perform in the courtyard of Short-Denney Residential College, so that will be fun. They are going to perform for a screening of The Phantom of the Opera from 1925.?

The fall 2007 residency schedule includes:

? Morton Brown, public artist -- Conway Community Mural, Aug. 14-Oct. 6;
? Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison: The Architect?s Brother - Exhibition featuring narrative images on view in the Baum Gallery, Sept. 13-Oct. 5;
? Katie Lansdale - Violinist who has performed at the White House and with Yo Yo Ma, Sept. 5-6, Oct. 20, Nov. 1;
? The Alloy Orchestra - Performance during a screening of the 1925 version of The Phantom of the Opera, Oct. 16;
? Michael Cunningham, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Hours, which was recently adapted for film - Reading from his work, Oct. 16;
? Naomi Shihab Nye, poet and essayist - Reading from her work, Nov. 6;
? The Virtuoso Horn Duo with Kyle Turner - Performance, Nov. 9;
? The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, one of the oldest (founded 1935) and largest professional non-profit theatres in the country - Performance, Nov. 16.

The Artists in Residence program is funded through UCA?s arts fee and administered by the College of Fine Arts and Communication.

?Our own faculty make recommendations about who they want to work with our students, so really this program makes it possible for UCA students to interact with the finest international performing/visual/communication artists,? Seymour said.

The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication is celebrating its 10th anniversary during the University?s Centennial. CFAC was founded in 1997; what is now UCA was founded in 1907 when the Arkansas Legislature approved a bill to establish the state?s first teacher-training school. It was called Arkansas State Normal School, Arkansas State Teachers College and State College of Arkansas before becoming the University of Central Arkansas in 1975.

The institution has grown from 100 students to more than 12,000 and is Arkansas?s second-largest, four-year comprehensive university.

For more information, call the Office of the Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication, at (501) 450-3293 or e-mail gayles@uca.edu.

Raymond-Jean Frontain, professor of English, has been named Executive Editor of ANQ: American Notes and Queries, a quarterly journal of short articles, notes, documents and reviews that is published by the Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation (HELDREF) in Washington, DC. Frontain's renewable three-year term begins with Volume 21 (2008).

Joe Cangelosi, professor of Marketing, Scott Markham, retired professor of Marketing, and Yuen Chan, assistant professor of Management, recently had their article entitled, "The Use of Free Advertising by Non-Profit Marketers," accepted for publication in the International Journal of Business Disciplines.

Cangelosi, along with Mike Casey, professor of finance, also published an article in the Summer 2007 issue of the International Journal of Business Disciplines. Entitled "Motivational Benefits of Job Redesign: Some Empirical Evidence from the Manufacturing Sector," the article was co-authored with Jay Robbins of Ouachita Baptist University.

A team of UCA graduate students led by Don Bradley, professor of marketing and executive director of UCA's Small Business National Advancement Center, recently issued a report about the deterioration of buildings in downtown Gentry, Ark.

According to an article published last Friday in the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas, "Several buildings in the downtown area that once thrived with business now contain mounds of old merchandise and other items as owners use the buildings as storage. Don Bradley, a professor of marketing and executive director of the Small Business National Advancement Center at University of Central Arkansas, told City Council members and Mayor Wes Hogue earlier this month the buildings are a serious fire hazard. ... Bradley's report was part of a presentation put together by himself and graduate students in an entrepreneur class at the University of Central Arkansas.

"Students prepared a 38-page report detailing what Gentry leaders could do to take advantage of growth in Northwest Arkansas, Bradley said. The main concern in the report was the disintegration of downtown. 'The abandoned goods and buildings give the impression that the community, the downtown and the heart of Gentry is dying,' according to the report prepared by Jason McClure and Nancy Scott. The report stressed expanding downtown commercial spaces, exploiting assets and enforcing building codes."

A new endowment at the University of Central Arkansas will provide scholarships to doctoral students conducting research in the new Communication Sciences and Disorders doctoral program consortium.

The McNiece Doctoral Endowed Research Fellowship was established by the late Virginia McNiece. She was the mother of Dr. Jim McNiece, a retired Conway orthodontist, and the mother-in-law of Dr. Elaine McNiece, dean of graduate studies at UCA.

?I realized that there was no support for doctoral students who are at the stage of conducting research, so I suggested setting up a fund to help students defray those costs,? said Elaine. ?The McNiece family has placed great value on higher education. Jim?s parents strongly encouraged us to keep going in school. This fellowship is a recognition, by the McNiece family, of the value they place on earning an advanced degree.?

The first fellowship will be awarded in the spring.

The doctoral degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders is offered through a new consortium program established by the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at UCA in conjunction with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The first students were admitted to the program last fall.

The doctoral consortium program is designed for students with entry-level degree training in the areas of speech-language pathology, audiology and/or speech and hearing sciences.

Dr. Susan Moss-Logan, interim director of the consortium, said there is a severe national shortage of doctoral-prepared (Ph.D.) faculty in communications sciences and disorders.

There is not another program like this in the state. In fact, when the doctoral program was first discussed nearly a decade ago, officials at UCA, UALR and UAMS agreed that no single program in the state had all of the resources necessary to offer the degree and that was why the consortium was formed.

The consortium structure provides the opportunity for interdisciplinary research in both medically oriented sites and in conventional college campus locations.

Doctoral students have the opportunity to collaborate on research with specialists working with the full range of the population, from children to the elderly and with disciplines including otolaryngology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, psychology and special education.

Students have access to research facilities to study fluency, swallowing, auditory perception, language development, electrophysiology, and other areas.

?Even though most students have financial assistance, there are always these extra costs for a doctoral student,? Moss-Logan said. ?One of those costs comes from doing their own research. Students often have to purchase supplies and equipment or pay for travel, and this fund would help support their research endeavors. It is very difficult to be a full-time doctoral student and meet your financial obligations. Any assistance they can receive, especially for their research, is just fabulous.?

?We are so pleased that the McNiece family has chosen to support students enrolled in this new doctoral program,? said Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Development Kelley Erstine. ?Having a graduate dean who not only recognizes a need, but also assists in fulfilling that need, is a true asset to the university and its students.?

Jason Arthur, a junior Political Science major at UCA, recently completed a summer internship in the Little Rock office of U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln.

Arthur, the son of Barry and Patsy Arthur of Little Rock, was exposed to various facets of the federal government and our nation's legislative process while participating in Lincoln's internship program.

"Giving young students an opportunity to serve the state through my Senate offices is one of the great joys of my job," said Lincoln. "Congressional internships allow students to experience first hand the behind-the-scenes workings of the federal legislative branch."

Over the course of the 10-week program, Arthur assisted constituents and worked closely with Lincoln's caseworkers and field staff.

UCA hosted its annual Move In Day on Sunday, welcoming thousands of incoming freshmen students as they arrived on campus for the first time.

UCA President Lu Hardin was on hand to greet the students and their families, and he and other UCA faculty and staff answered questions and guided the newcomers to their new homes away from home.

To see television news coverage of the day, choose any of these four reports:

KTHV: 'Moving Day' For Arkansas College Students

KATV: Freshman Students Anticipate College Experience

KLRT: Students Move-in as UCA Enters 100th Year

KARK: UCA Students Introduced to New Mobile Command Center

The Chronicle of Higher Education featured a recent study about national college-football rankings conducted by Noel Campbell and Tammy Rogers, faculty members in the Department of Economics, Finance, Insurance and Risk Management in UCA's College of Business.

According to the article, "Wins can take a team only so far in the national college-football rankings, according to a study by three business scholars. The more often a team appears on television, they have found, the more likely it will receive votes in the Associated Press's weekly poll of the top 25 teams. Simply put, say the authors, 'exposure matters.'

"While the study's results provide 'no more than suggestive evidence,' it seems that 'a highly televised team has an advantage relative to an infrequently televised team, all else equal,' in the AP poll, according to the authors. In addition, 'a highly televised team gets a bigger "bump"' from playing a team that does not usually appear on television than from playing one that does, they write."

To read the study itself, click here.

Mary H. Mosley, associate professor in the department of Early Childhood & Special Education in UCA's College of Education, was one of twelve educators who presented back-to-school staff development for the Helena/West Helena School District last week. Mosley and others presented the three-day Pathwise Mentor Training for teachers in the district Aug. 13 through 15. The staff development training was sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Education. Certified Pathwise Assessors from throughout the state participated in the training.

The University of Central Arkansas is included among the "Top Schools" for Master's degrees in the South, according to rankings released today in U.S. News and World Report's annual "America's Best Colleges" edition.

UCA was ranked number 56 in the category, which placed it among the top tier of schools. The rankings are based on a variety of factors, including freshman retention rate, class size, the percentage of full-time faculty, and acceptance rate.

Click here to see the rankings.

Nancy Schuyler, a master's degree candidate in reading at the University of Central Arkansas, recently was named the "Outstanding Teacher for 2007" at the elementary school level by the South Shore Foundation.

Schuyler, a Yellville-Summit Elementary School teacher with 31 years of experience, received a $1,000 cash award.

Jacquie Rainey, associate professor in health science and associate dean of UCA's College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, recently had an article published in the July/August 2007 edition of the American Journal of Health Education. The article, entitled, "Staff recommendations concerning the delivery of hepatitis-related services in county health departments," was a product of a year-long evaluation project with the Florida Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jane Elphingstone from the department of Health Sciences and Lauretta Koenigseder of Nursing were part of the evaluation team that researched the Florida Hepatitis and Liver Failure Prevention Program.

Over 400 students will graduate from the University of Central Arkansas during Commencement exercises scheduled to take place tonight at 7 p.m. at the Farris Center on the UCA campus.

The 426 degrees that will be conferred include 35 doctorates, 159 master's degrees, 225 bachelor's degrees, six associate degrees and one specialist degree.

Those numbers represent a 22 percent increase over the 350 degrees awarded during commencement exercises in August 2006.

"UCA has the second-highest graduation rate among Arkansas public universities, and it's one of only two public universities in the state with a graduation rate above 50 percent," said UCA President Lu Hardin. "UCA's graduation rate continues to improve, along with the number of doctoral and master's degree programs UCA offers."

UCA on Wednesday night again was the subject of the top story on KARK news.

This time, the topic was campus safety -- specifically, all of the measures that the UCA Police Department has implemented to improve emergency response and crisis communication in the wake of the Virginia Tech incident last Spring.

You can watch the segment at:

http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/?cid=58489

Two recent UCA graduates are among the 30 students who comprise the third class admitted to the Master of Public Service (MPS) degree program at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

Jose Guzzardi, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, graduated from the UCA Honors College with a degree in international studies. Guzzardi also serves as a board member of the Central Arkansas Chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States of America.

Amanda Harris, from Lonoke, earned her uCA degree in speech communication. Her public service experience includes equal rights advocacy and youth leadership development. Harris participated in the 2007 Soulforce Equality Ride, a two-month long bus journey to promote equal rights in public schools throughout America.

Guzzardi and Harris begin their studies at the Clinton School later this month.

Ronnie Williams, UCA's Vice President for Student Services, recently was appointed by Gov. Mike Beebe to the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) Commission, which oversees the statewide public television network.

Williams was on staff at the University of Central Arkansas from 1980-1983 as assistant dean of students and left UCA to serve as an assistant principal with the Conway School District. He later was a secondary supervisor with the Arkansas Department of Education. Since returning to the University of Central Arkansas in 1991, he has served as associate dean of students, assistant to the president and has held the position of Vice President for Student Services since 1996.

UCA's dramatic growth and infrastructure improvements were the focus of the lead story on Tuesday night's KARK 6 p.m. newscast.

According to the story, "On the whole, UCA has been the choice of students with higher and higher [test] scores. The entire Honors College of more than 500 students has an average ACT score of 31. Four hundred more parking spaces will be added to the campus this fall .... A new business school full of classroom space is also in the works. With time on his side to plan, Hardin and the board of trustees will sit down this fall to discuss if the school wants to expand and how that might happen. Hardin says in five years he sees a campus with 15 to 20 thousand students."

Watch the story at: http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/?cid=58440

Two stories published first by The Oxford American magazine, "Jakob Loomis" by Jason Ockert and "Unassigned Territory" by Stephanie Powell Watts, have been selected for the 2007 edition of "New Stories from the South," an annual all-star literary anthology.

The 18 works of fiction were culled from such publications as The Georgia Review, Harper's, Atlantic Monthly, and The Oxford American.

The Oxford American makes its home at UCA, which provides most of its operating budget. "UCA's relationship with The Oxford American constitutes a unique alliance," said UCA President Lu Hardin. "No university in the United States is allied with a magazine of this caliber."

The anthology was edited by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward P. Jones, who is considered "one of the most important writers of his own generation and of the present day," according to Washington Post Book World. Jones has selected well-established writers (James Lee Burke, Rick Bass, Tim Gautreaux, George Singleton) as well as emerging writers (Holly Goddard Jones, Joshua Ferris, Angela Threat, Philipp Meyer). Jones explains that he chose stories that hold a special resonance for him: "For something to claim me long after the last sentence, I need a sense that the world, for even one character, has shifted, whether to a large or a tiny degree?. I have tried to do my best to pick stories that are not, to use some of William Faulkner's words, about the glands, but about the human heart."

Dito Morales, assistant professor of art history, recently delivered a paper at the XXII Congress of the International Association for Caribbean Archaeology, in Kingston, Jamaica. His paper, "Modified Speleothems and Caribbean Rock Art," focused on prehistoric cave art from Cuba using ethnohistoric documentation of indigenous use and conception of caves in the Greater Antilles. Morales augmented this with information from Mayan traditions on mainland Mesoamerica to deepen the modern understanding of the pre-Columbian nexus of caves, ritual, and art. This research in Cuba and Jamaica was supported in part by a University Research Council grant.

Reynolds Performance Hall at UCA will come alive with performances as UCA Public Appearances offers its biggest season to date: 21 performances of 12 different shows, starting mid-September and ending in late April 2008.

Variety abounds and there is something for everyone, according to Guy Couch, director of UCA Public Appearances.

"We have put together a group of shows that will spice up your nights with sparking professional entertainment," says Couch. "From Neil Berg's '100 Years of Broadway' to the final bow of the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre's new production of 'Carmen,' these are all great shows. We have Broadway and country, rock opera and dance, cirque and world music. Really, this is a true variety season with something to please everyone. We are very happy with the way the season came together this year."

Opening September 13 and 14 with a New York Broadway revue, Neil Berg's "100 Years of Broadway" is a President's Choice show and will be hosted by President Lu Hardin and his wife Mary. "This year UCA celebrates its first 100 years, and the revue celebrates the last 100 years of the Broadway musical. It's a nice fit, and a great show," said Couch.

Couch also announced new price options as well. "With 12 shows, we felt like we would need to offer our season ticket holders some options, so we have developed a flexible season ticket package. Purchasers can choose the full 12-show package or they can choose 8 of the 12 shows, and they get to choose the 8 shows they want to see." he said.

Season ticket holders also get to choose their performance dates. Five of the 12 shows have a single performance. Five have double performances. Two shows have 3 performances, for a total of 21 performances.

Season tickets will remain on sale through September 14. UCA students can obtain tickets for only $10.

See the entire season schedule at www.uca.edu/publicappearances or www.uca.edu/reynolds, or contact UCA Public Appearances by calling toll free from anywhere in Arkansas at 866-810-0012 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Single tickets for all shows will be available August 15.

Mike Casey, professor of finance, John Bratton, professor of insurance and risk management, and Sherry Roberts, assistant professor of business/marketing technology education, this week taught a seminar in real estate consumer education sponsored by the Arkansas Realtors? Association. The two-day seminar covered topics related to home ownership and was designed to educate consumers about buying a home. Seminar participants were high school teachers from around the state who used the seminar content and materials provided by the Arkansas Realtors? Association to teach their students about home ownership. This was the fourth consecutive real estate seminar funded by the Arkansas Realtors? Association.

Casey also joined Victor Puleo, assistant professor of insurance, in writing a paper accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the International Academy of Business and Economics to be held in Las Vegas in October. The paper, "Dividend Policy Determinants in the Insurance Industry," will be subsequently published in the Journal of Academy of Business and Economics.

UCA's newest police officer, Kevin Ford, was sworn in on July 9th. Ford, who is 34, moved to Arkansas from Illinois last year after visiting his mother, who also works for UCA. During his visit to Conway, he decided to take a tour of the UCA Police Department. Not long afterward, he decided to move to Arkansas and pursue a career in law enforcement at UCAPD.

Before becoming an officer, Ford served in the United States Army and managed an automotive store. Although Kevin is considered a "rookie officer," this is not his first time being around law enforcement. His father and uncle were police officers, and before moving to Arkansas, Ford was an auxiliary officer in his hometown.

The new edition of Soiree magazine has UCA President Lu Hardin on the cover, and the feature article documents UCA's dramatic growth and academic improvement since Hardin arrived on campus five years ago.

"In the next 10 years, I foresee continued growth at UCA while continuing to build a national academic reputation," Hardin says in the article. "For the first time in our history, UCA was ranked by U.S. News & World Report out of hundreds of colleges and universities in the South. In the future, not only will our enrollment increase, we will continue to receive better students and hopefully will continue to be recognized as an academic leader, not only in our Honors College, but among all students."

Jessica Jones, a 2006 University of Central Arkansas graduate from Cabot with a Bachelor's Degree in French and English, is the recipient of a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship from Conway Morning Rotary Club.

She will travel to France to work on a Master's Degree in French Literature and Language during the 2007-2008 school year at the University Lumire Lyon 2 in Lyon, France. Along with her studies, she will give speeches to various French Rotary clubs in her role as a Rotary Ambassador.

She is the daughter of Michael and Andrea Jones of Cabot.

The latest issue of the Tennessee Williams Annual Review features an essay by UCA English professor Raymond-Jean Frontain entitled, "Tennessee Williams and 'the Arkansas Ozark Way,'" which is described as "an innovative study of landscape and sexual liberation in Williams's plays and short fiction."

The only journal dedicated to the legacy of the great American playwright, the Tennessee Williams Annual Review is published annually by The Historic New Orleans Collection.

Last Friday, the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved a new Ph.D. program in Leadership Studies to be administered by UCA's College of Education. It will be the only one of its kind in the region.

According to Larry A. Robinson, dean of the College of Education, the Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership Studies will prepare scholar leaders for academic positions and leadership roles in complex organizations found in education, healthcare, government, and non-profit settings. The program?s graduates will understand their roles in conserving, expanding, and transforming the discipline of leadership studies and their responsibilities for informing the world of practice.

"The study and practice of leadership is taking on a more prominent role in our society as organizations, countries, and governments strive to meet the expectations and needs of the constituencies it serves in a more complex and globalized world," Robinson said. "For this reason, the doctorate in Leadership Studies was created."

The Ph.D. program will be housed in the Department of Leadership Studies in the College of Education. Courses are expected to begin in the spring 2008 semester.

The Community Development Institute (CDI) at the University of Central Arkansas last Friday received $80,000 from the Nabholz Charitable Foundation to endow an operating fund for CDI.

The grant was announced at a luncheon held at UCA to celebrate the 20th anniversary of CDI. During the luncheon, CDI also presented its first "Friends of Community and Economic Development" awards.

UCA President Lu Hardin and Arkansas State Senator Gilbert Baker of Conway received the "Friend of Community Development" awards.

Billy Ray, executive director of the Phillips County Chamber of Commerce, received the Ernest Whitelaw Award, and Jay Robison of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission received the Bill Miller Award.

"These awards are to recognize those people who are forward thinking and committed to making life better by investing in community and economic development -- not only for Central Arkansas, but for the state and region as well," said Robert Pittman, executive director of the Community Development Institute.

CDI trains local officials, board members, and citizens from all walks of life to strengthen their local economies and build communities. UCA is home to the nation's first Community Development Institute, which was founded in 1987. Since that time, CDIs have been established in Texas, West Virginia, Idaho and Illinois, and a national governing and certification body, the Community Development Council (CDC), has been created. Now referred to as CDI Central, the Arkansas program has attracted sponsors such as Entergy, AT&T, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the Arkansas Community Development Society.

Founded in 1949 by Robert D. Nabholz in Conway, Nabholz Construction Corp. has grown to 850 employees with divisions in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri and six subsidiary companies. Robert Nabholz established the Nabholz Charitable Foundation in 1987 to provide funding to community and charitable organizations.

UCA English professor Jay Ruud published an article entitled "Female Personae and Women Writers: Chaucer and the Findern Manuscript" in volume 20 of the journal Medieval Perspectives, whcih appeared in July.

Jacob Held, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, recently published an article entitled, "Gay Marriage, Liberalism, and Recognition: The Case for Equal Treatment," in the July 2007 edition of Public Affairs Quarterly [Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 221-233].

Another article by Held, "The Morality of the Eighth Amendment: Cruelty, Dignity, and Natural Rights," has been accepted for publication in a forthcoming edition of Vera Lex: Journal of the International Natural Law Society.

The Community Development Institute (CDI) at the University of Central Arkansas today will celebrate its 20th anniversary by presenting its first "Friends of Community and Economic Development" award.

"This award is to recognize those people who are forward thinking and committed to making life better by investing in community and economic development -- not only for Central Arkansas, but for the state and region as well," said Robert Pittman, executive director of the Community Development Institute.

The award presentation will take place today during a luncheon at 12 noon in the Brewer-Hegeman conference center on the UCA campus.

CDI trains local officials, board members, and citizens from all walks of life to strengthen their local economies and build communities.

UCA is home to the nation's first Community Development Institute, which was founded in 1987. Since that time, CDIs have been established in Texas, West Virginia, Idaho and Illinois, and a national governing and certification body, the Community Development Council (CDC), has been created. Now referred to as CDI Central, the Arkansas program has attracted sponsors such as Entergy, AT&T, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the Arkansas Community Development Society.

According to Pittman, "Training local leaders and citizens is one of the keys to successful community and economic development. Creating a great place to live, work and play facilitates business growth and new jobs. Community and economic development don't happen by accident. Pro-active and knowledgeable community leaders and citizens make it happen."

Allison Wallace, assistant professor in UCA?s Honors College, will be the featured guest on the next edition of ?Arkansas Arts Scene? with Ann Nicholson on KUAR public radio. The interview will be broadcast this Sunday, August 5, at 10 a.m., and you can hear it on 89.1 FM in Central Arkansas, 94.5 FM in Monticello, 94.7 FM in Batesville, and 94.7 FM in Forrest City. Or listen online at kuar.org.

Wallace will be discussing her recently published memoir, ?A Keeper of Bees: Notes on Hive and Home.?

Ron White, an adjunct marketing instructor at UCA, recently received a Certificate of Appreciation for Community Service Leadership from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. White was recognized for his work in developing a volunteer income tax assistance program for low-income families in the Delta region of Arkansas. Through the program, eligible families receive free tax return preparation and are made aware of benefits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the availability of matching funds for purchasing a home, starting a business, or going to college. White also is the federal budget outreach director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

Israel Getzov, Director of Orchestras at UCA and Music Director/Conductor of the Conway Symphony, led a group of four UCA students to China this summer to perform with the Fujian Symphony Orchestra in Fuzhou, China. The trip was the latest in a series of collaborations between UCA, the Conway Symphony and the Fujian Symphony. Mr. Getzov currently holds the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Fujian Symphony.

Mr. Getzov, as well as Jennifer Holbrook (Soprano), Jennifer Crippen (Mezzo-Soprano), Michael Cripps (Cello) and Jordan Coleman (Bass) spent 13 days in China, including 9 days in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province. They performed a concert of light classical and Broadway favorites with the Fujian Orchestra with Ms. Holbrook and Ms. Crippen performing as featured soloists, Mr. Cripps and Mr. Coleman serving as assistant principals of their sections, and Mr. Getzov Conducting.

In September, 30 musicians from the Fujian Symphony will travel to Arkansas for a collaboration with the Conway Symphony and the UCA Chamber orchestra at Reynolds Performance Hall. The concert is scheduled for September 23rd at 4 p.m., and will feature the orchestras performing together in a program of traditional Chinese music and American favorites.

Isiah Lavender, Assistant Professor of English at UCA, had the lead essay entitled, "Ethnoscapes: Environment and Language in Ishmael Reed's Mumbo Jumbo, Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist, and Samuel R. Delany's Babel-17," in last month's special issue of the journal Science Fiction Studies, which focused on Afrofuturism.

More than 50 teachers from around Arkansas are on the UCA campus this week to participate in a program that will train them to help other teachers in their schools.

The program, entitled "Developing Mathematics/Science Coaches/Teacher Leaders in Arkansas Schools," is the brainchild of Stephen Addison, professor and chair of UCA's Department of Physics and Astronomy who is also the Director of the UCA Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education. Addison received a $139,140 grant (since supplemented to $173,880) from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to fund the program, which is a cooperative effort among UCA's Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education, the Department of Education, and AETN.

The participating teachers are taking a course intended to develop their skills as professional developers so they can enhance their abilities to be teacher leaders in their own school districts. The program is being facilitated by Linda Griffith of the UCA Mathematics Department. As well as being delivered to more than 50 teachers on site, the sessions will be filmed and sent via CIV to several of educational coops.

This week's sessions end tomorrow, but there will be more throughout the year.

Assistant Professor of Marketing M. Douglas Voss recently made a presentation entitled "Achieving All-Hazards Preparedness and Response: Review of Joint NEHA and Michigan State University Department of Homeland Security Survey Results" at the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) Annual Educational Conference.

The purpose of the presentation was to detail results of a survey targeted toward environmental health professionals and explore their greatest needs and challenges in preparing for a food contamination event, possibly due to terrorism or natural disaster such as Katrina. The survey was funded by a grant from the National Center for Food Protection and Defense, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, in collaboration with Michigan State University, and is part of a continuing effort to safeguard the nation's food supply from terrorism or other modes of contamination through funded university research.

Hitch a ride with the UCA Athletic Department for the 2007 season opener of Bears Football! UCA is chartering a bus to travel to Ruston, La., for the Bears' game with Louisiana Tech on Sept. 1. Cost is $40 per person, and does not include your game ticket. The bus will leave at 11 a.m. on game day and return that night after the game. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Joe Ailett Stadium. Deadline to signup is Friday, Aug. 10. For more information, call 450-3150.