University of Central Arkansas

The Brentano String Quartet will perform and lecture this week for UCA's Fall 2008 Artists in Residence program.

The quartet includes violinist Mark Steinberg, violinist Serena Canin, violist Misha Amory and cellist Nina Lee. All four have traveled the world and the United States performing in music festivals and teaching at universities. Steinberg is currently on the faculty of Mannes College of Music. Canin teaches at Princeton University and New York University. Amory is a faculty member of The Juilliard School in New York City. Lee teaches at Princeton University and Columbia University. The quartet is in residency at Princeton University.

Through the Artists in Residence program students can meet experienced musicians through a master class, lunch with the artists or an evening performance. The College of Fine Arts and Communication is creating an atmosphere where students can ask questions and learn more about music.

The Brentano String Quartet will teach a chamber music master class at 1:30 p.m. in Reynolds Performance Hall on Oct. 1. The musicians will host an open rehearsal at 3:15 p.m. before they perform a public concert at 7:30 p.m. at Reynolds Performance Hall the same evening. To end the residency, the quartet will teach a string master class starting at 1:40 p.m. in the Snow Fine Arts Center recital hall Oct. 2. All events are free and open to the public.

In accordance with the national celebration of Banned Books Week, UCA's Department of English, in conjunction with Sigma Tau Delta, is hosting a week-long presentation of events highlighting various works of literature that have either been challenged or banned, and the freedom to explore those texts academically across a variety of topics and genres.

According to the American Library Association, "Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read" is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. This year marks BBW's 27th anniversary (September 27 through October 4). BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.

ArtsFest, Conway's premier mini-festival of the arts, takes place this week in downtown Conway.

Sponsored by the Conway Alliance for the Arts and its newly appointed board of directors, the festival, which will run Oct. 1 through 4, is becoming a time-tested Conway tradition.

Now in its second year, ArtsFest began in 2007 as a celebration of the community mural that, designed by Morton Brown as a part of UCA’s centennial celebration, became the colorful centerpiece of downtown Conway.

"It was very small," said Dr. Gayle Seymour, associate dean of UCA's College of Fine Arts and Communication, said. "It just involved the local colleges and high schools coming together to benefit the community. This year’s conversation is designed to include new people, voices and perspectives. We wanted to include the community in a celebration of the arts."

Visual and mixed media artist Stefana McClure is an Artist in Residence at UCA from today through Thursday.

McClure today will present a gallery talk about her work as part of the Baum Gallery exhibition, "Leaded: The Materiality and Metamorphosis of Graphite." McClure's work in the show is made from graphite transfer paper.

"I will talk about what attracts me to this particular material and also about the concept behind the work," McClure said.

Tomorrow, McClure will conduct a mixed media workshop for students from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. She also will give a lecture at 7:30 p.m. in McCastlain Hall 143. All events are free and open to the public. On Thursday, she will engage in one-on-one critiques with students.

Texarkana High School head football coach Bill Keopple received the second annual Buddy Harding Award during last Saturday's UCA football game.

Keopple led the Razorbacks to back-to-back Class 6A state titles in 2006 and 2007. He played football at UCA and served as an assistant coach for 14 years, including the 1984, 1985 and 1991 national championship seasons. Keopple has also served as an assistant in the college ranks at Boise State, Arkansas and Tulsa.

The Buddy Harding Award is named in honor of Rush "Buddy" Harding, Jr., who graduated from UCA in 1951. Harding went on to spend over 30 years at Clarendon High School as a coach and administrator. He is a member of the UCA Sports Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. The award is presented annually to a UCA alumnus for Arkansas high school coaching excellence and is sponsored by Harding's UCA fraternity, Sigma Tau Gamma.

The UCA Confucius Institute for Arkansas will officially open tomorrow with a formal announcement and reception at 2 p.m. in the Board of Trustees Conference Room in Wingo Hall. Special guests will include a delegation from East China Normal University, which is UCA's partner institution for the Institute.

Formed in collaboration with the Office of Chinese Language Council International, the UCA Confucius Institute for Arkansas is the 24th Confucius Institute created within the United States and one of only 200 worldwide. It is the only such institute in Arkansas and one of the very few located in the American South.

The mission of the UCA Confucius Institute for Arkansas is to promote Chinese culture within the state of Arkansas. This will be accomplished through cultural training, consultation services, seminars, conferences, and language training support, as well as cultural performances and exhibitions. The Institute is firmly committed to public service and community outreach to all segments and constituents of Arkansas.

UCA is included on the 2008 list of "Top 50 Entrepreneurial Colleges" compiled by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review.

The list highlights UCA's MBA program and its Small Business Advancement National Center (http://sbaer.uca.edu/), which is led by executive director and UCA marketing professor Don Bradley.

UCA was evaluated on the basis of several factors, including the percentage of enrolled students who started a business (25 percent); the percentage still in business (100 percent); faculty who are entrepreneurs (100 percent); recent graduates who started a business (15 percent); the amount of scholarships available for the MBA program; and the mentorship programs available to students.

For more information, visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges/allcategories/0.html.

UCA's Department of Computer Science recently received a formal accreditation notice from the ABET Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC). The ABET CAC is the only agency in the nation to accredit programs in computer science, information systems, and information technology. Across the nation, there are only about 300 programs accredited by ABET/CAC. UCA's computer science program is a newly accredited program, and this accreditation extends retroactively from October 1, 2006. The decision was made as a result of a rigorous assessment and review. Graduation from an accredited program signifies adequate preparation for entry into the profession. In fact, many employers require graduation from an accredited program as a minimum qualification. This accreditation assures that UCA's computer science undergraduate program has met quality standards set by the profession.

UCA has a Fall 2008 enrollment of 12,959, the largest in its history, and an increase of 2.7 percent over its enrollment one year earlier, which was 12,619.

UCA remains the second-largest university in Arkansas, and it also has the second-highest retention and graduation rates of any public university in the state.

"We are pleased that UCA continues to attract so many college-bound Arkansas students," said UCA interim president Tom Courtway. "But we are particularly proud that the number of UCA graduates continues to grow every year, and our efforts are focused on improving our retention and graduation rates."

For the first time in UCA's 101-year history, international enrollment has exceeded 500 students. In total, 576 international students are enrolled for the Fall 2008 semester. This represents a 23 percent increase over Fall 2007 semester figures and is part of a four-year trend of a growing international student population.

"International students come to study in the United States for a variety of reasons," said Mirtila Nunez, a senior from Honduras majoring in Biology. "Initially, many have never heard of UCA or even the State of Arkansas. Recruiting efforts from the UCA Division of International Affairs often combined with word-of-mouth from current international students help many select UCA."

UCA Theatre will open its 2008-09 season with two one-act plays by Christopher Durang. "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You" and "Business Lunch at the Russian Tea Room" will both be presented each evening on September 29 and 30, and October 1, 2, and 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Studio Theatre of the Snow Fine Arts Center.

"Sister Mary..." is the funny, anguished, and out of control comedy about Sister Mary and her former students who have fallen away from the Church's teachings. In "Business Lunch..." a playwright is trying to decide whether he should write a screenplay about the priest and the rabbi but with a twist in the plot that can’t be imagined. Both plays are suggested for mature audiences only.

Dr. Letha Mosley, Dr. Janet Jedlicka, Mrs. Elizabeth LeQuieu, and Dr. Felicia Taylor published an article in OT Practice (April 2008) entitled "Obesity and Occupational Therapy Practice: Present and Potential Practice Trends." Mosley was invited to write the feature article based on her work and national presentations on obesity. The authors have been collaborating to research evaluation and intervention methods used to work with clients at risk for obesity or identified as clinically obese to determine efficacy and evidence for practice. The focus of the article was on primary, secondary, and tertiary care in community and medical practice settings. Evaluation and intervention information was discussed including a new concept which the authors refer to as Planned Energy-Expenditure Principles (PEP), these principles may be applied as an intervention strategy in practice with individuals diagnosed as obese.

UCA head athletic trainer David Strickland has been appointed to the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness by Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe. Strickland, who received his bachelor's degree from New Mexico State and his master's from the University of Wisconsin-LaCross, is in his 11th year as the head athletic trainer at UCA.

UCA's College of Liberal Arts is introducing a new initiative called EDGE -- EDucating for Global Engagement -- that offers five primary components for students:

1) An expanding global curriculum 2) Study abroad opportunities; 3) Undergraduate research projects; 4) Internships; and 5) Service learning courses.

These areas of interest address how, why, and what students learn, and more importantly, how their education enables them to engage in the debate on global understanding.

"Students today expect opportunities to extend their education with internships, study abroad, service learning and unique undergraduate research projects, said Dr. Peter Mehl, associate dean of UCA's College of Liberal Arts. "Our EDGE plan is a major step toward developing these opportunities for all students in the college."

Former U.S. Senator David Pryor tomorrow will discuss his recently published autobiography, "A Pryor Commitment," from 3:30 to 4:45 P.M. in the Doyne Health Sciences Auditorium.

Hosted by UCA Deans Maurice Lee, Rollin Potter, and Neil Hattlestad, students and faculty will have the opportunity to hear a sample of David Pryors experiences as an active player on the Nations public stage. Pryor will take as many questions from students and faculty as time allows.

T. Clay Arnold, professor of Political Science at UCA, published "The San Luis Valley and the Moral Economy of Water" in Water, Place, and Equity (MIT Press, Series in American and Comparative Environmental Policy: 37-67).

Ken Sobel in UCA's Department of Psychology and Counseling is an invited panelist at the Science Café on September 23, 2008, from 7-9 pm at Vieux Carre / Afterthought, 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd (Hillcrest) in Little Rock. The Science Café was established in 2007 to bring various science topics to the public for discussion. Meetings are held the 4th Tuesday of each month. The September topic for discussion is "Human Behavior: What Makes You Tick?" Dr. Sobel is one of three invited panelists who will speak on the topic from his background and experience as a psychologist. An informal question and answer session is scheduled after the panel presentation. Additionally Dr. Sobel will be interviewed on KUAR FM 89 radio station from the UALR campus from 6:05 - 6:30 p.m. preceding the Science Café. Listeners may call in or e-mail questions. For more information regarding the Science Café visit http://www.sciencecafelr.com.

UCA's Community Development Institute (CDI) next week is teaming up with the Little Rock branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis to present a seminar entitled, "The Ripple Effect: The Impact of Foreclosures and Tightening Credit and Capital Markets on Community Development Finance." During this day-long conference on Sept. 19, national, regional, and local experts will explore recent challenges to financing community and economic development due to the national credit market situation. The conference will address tactics and strategies that cities, states, and regions might use in response to the current challenges in credit availability and cost.

The conference will be held at UCA's Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center. State and municipal leaders, community and economic developers, representatives of financial institutions, and anyone interested in community development finance are encouraged to attend. Online registration is available at www.stlouisfed.org/community/conferences.html. For more information, contact Julie Kerr at 501.324.8296 or Julie.a.kerr@stls.frb.org.

This event is one of several co-sponsored by the Community Development Institute and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

"Partnering with the Community Development Institute at the University of Central Arkansas allows us to reach a broad audience interested in community development," said Amy Simpkins, a Community Development Specialist for the Federal Reserve. "The Little Rock Branch of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank is excited about this opportunity to provide high-quality, relevant educational opportunities to our state and region."

Graphite landscape artist Meghan Gerety next week will be the second lecturer in the University of Central Arkansas’s Fall 2008 Artists in Residence program.

Gerety's work will be part of the Baum Gallery exhibit "Leaded: The Materiality and Metamorphosis of Graphite," featuring two- and three-dimensional work in graphite by 15 contemporary artists, developed by the University of Richmond Museums and organized for tour by International Arts & Artists.

"Graphite is a fundamental drawing material that they’re using in wildly different ways," said Jennifer Rospert, assistant professor of drawing who is the faculty sponsor for the residency. "Meghan Gerety happens to work with nature as subject matter, especially trees. She's a really contemporary, up-and-coming artist, and here she is doing trees."

Two UCA English faculty members have published articles in the Spring 2008 issue of the journal American Notes and Queries:

Paige Reynolds, assistant professor of English, published the essay "Mourning and Memory in Richard III," concerning William Shakespeare's play. Raymond Frontain, Professor of English, published the essay "Donne's 'Valediction of the booke' as Performative Action," concerned with a poem by the 17th-century poet John Donne.

UCA College of Business professors Mark E. McMurtrey, James P. Downey, Steven M. Zeltmann, and William H. Friedman recently had an article published in the Journal of Information Technology Education. Their research paper, "Critical Skill Sets of Entry-Level IT Professionals: An Empirical Examination of Perceptions From Field Personnel", appeared in Volume 7 (2008) of JITE. The journal endeavors to improve IT education around the world and only accepts 11 - 20% of submitted articles for publication, according to Cabell’s Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Management. The study surveyed 153 IT field personnel from six organizations and empirically examined which skills they thought were most important for entry-level IT professionals.

UCA will posthumously honor Ira Wilmer (Will) Counts Jr. during a reception on Friday, Sept. 12, at 10 a.m. in the Board of Trustees Conference Room in Wingo Hall.

Counts will be awarded the 2008 Distinguished Alumnus Award and an Honorary Doctorate in Communication. Counts' wife, Vivian, will accept the awards on his behalf.

The UCA Foundation will also announce a new scholarship in Counts' honor that was established by Conway residents and longtime friends, Milton and Claudia Davis.

Counts was a Pulitzer Prize-nominated photographer best known in Arkansas for his photographs during the 1957 desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock.

With his 258 passing yards against UC Davis on Saturday, UCA quarterback Nathan Brown, already the school record-holder, became the most prolific passing quarterback in Arkansas college history, according to research by UCA's Sports Information Department.

Brown currently has 7,977 passing yards for his career, passing former Arkansas State star Cleo Lemon last weekend for the top spot in state history.

After Saturday's victory, UCA jumped to No. 19 in both FCS national football polls on Monday.

The 2-0 Bears moved from No. 22 to No. 19 in The Sports Network poll and from No. 24 to No. 19 in the FCS Coaches' Poll.

The No. 19 ranking is the highest for the UCA program since moving to NCAA Division I in 2006.

Dr. Jacquie Rainey, Associate Dean of the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, was recently elected to serve as the Vice-Coordinator of the Division Board for Certification of Health Education Specialist (DBCHES) and to the Board of Commissioners (BOC) for the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC). NCHEC’s mission is to improve the practice of health education and to serve the public and profession of health education by certifying health education specialists, promoting professional development, and strengthening professional preparation. The BOC is comprised of 11 individuals who govern and are accountable for all NCHEC activities including defining the mission, strategic planning, establishing policies and overseeing the division boards. The DBCHES assures periodic review and evaluation of certification and examination processes, recommends policies and procedures for CHES examination and ensures that NCHEC’s competency testing meets acceptable standards. Rainey had previously been serving as a director on the DBCHES.

Charlotte Strickland, Education Seminar Coordinator in UCA's Division of Student Services, served recently as a consultant to Entergy Arkansas's Diversity initiative. Entergy currently has more than 20 employee-directed diversity and inclusion councils in seven states. Strickland worked with the Arkansas Diversity and Inclusion Council to create the diversity program, "Generational Differences in the Workplace," and trained the Entergy diversity council and other employee facilitators. Those trained will present the diversity program to all Entergy Arkansas employees during the 2008-09 year.

Clarinetist and composer Eric Mandat this week will be the first performer and lecturer in UCA's Fall 2008 Artists in Residence program.

"Eric's compositions are fresh and inventive," said Dr. Kelly Johnson, associate professor of music at UCA. "I believe this will inspire students to view the clarinet in a more creative way. I think that any student that comes will be impressed with Eric's vision and touched by his sense of humor."

Mandat teaches clarinet classes and music analysis courses at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. His career as a musician includes performing with the Mozart Concerto in 1991, Chicago Symphony’s MusicNow series and Tone Road Ramblers, an improvisation musical sextet. Mandat also released his solo CD The Extended Clarinet, which includes his own compositions.

A recent article in Wired magazine profiles Hiroyuki Nishimura, who created one of Japan's leading websites from his dorm room at UCA.

Calling him "the most influential figure on the Japanese Web," the article goes on to say:

Nishimura is a folk hero and role model. (In Japan he's referred to solely by his first name, a privilege afforded only to top-tier pop stars and TV heartthrobs.) [...]

He created the simple bulletin board system nine years ago as an exchange student at the University of Central Arkansas. "I was bored," he says. "I made it to kill time."

Dr. M. Douglas Voss, Assistant Professor of Marketing and Supply Chain Management in UCA's College of Business, recently gave presentations at The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) 72nd Annual Education Conference in Tucson, Ariz. and the Supply Chain Leaders in Action (SCLA) Conference in Phoenix. At NEHA, Voss and Dr. Keith Helferich of Michigan State University presented the final results of a survey jointly administered by MSU and NEHA that assessed the greatest needs and challenges of environmental health professionals in their efforts to prepare and respond to All Hazards incidents including terrorism and natural disasters. At SCLA, Voss and Helferich presented the results of three separate research endeavors that are designed to assist corporations in improving their supply chain security programs and increasing sustainability.

Voss also recently published an article in the Distribution Business Management Journal entitled, "Mitigation of Supply Chain Network Risk: Research and Results Applied to Security and Sustainability." The content of this article was presented at SCLA as described above.

Will Peveler, Assistant Professor of Exercise Science, recently had a study entitled "Effects of saddle height on economy in cycling," published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

Kelly Hunt Lyon, Development Manager of UCA's Strategic Growth Institute and Assistant Director of UCA Sponsored Programs, recently was awarded a $500 scholarship from the Stanphill Endowment at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Education. Lyon is pursuing a doctorate in Higher Education Administration at UALR and will complete her course work in the fall of 2008.

UCA's Strategic Growth Institute (SGI) on Oct. 3 will host a seminar to provide an update on the production and economic significance of the Fayetteville Shale drilling operations.

Panels of industry personnel, elected officials and executives from the real estate and financial sectors will discuss how production is ramping up, what it will likely be in the future and the current and projected impact on Arkansas and its communities. Higher education issues relating to the shale play will also be discussed. Speakers and panelists will include Brad Hegeman from Nabholz Construction Co., Gene Cauley of the Home Banc Shares Board, Faulkner County Judge Preston Scroggin, Conway County Judge Jimmy Hart, state Sen. Bob Johnson, state Sen. Gilbert Baker, state Rep. Bill Abernathy, State Rep. Johnnie Roebuck, and Dr. Robert Pittman, Executive Director of the Strategic Growth Institute.

"The magnitude and impact of natural gas production in Arkansas from the Fayetteville Shale operations change almost daily," Pittman said. "These operations will continue to have far-reaching impacts on the state and many communities. It is important that all Arkansans keep up with the situation so they can plan for and benefit from the situation. Communities in the immediate and surrounding areas need to plan and adapt proactively to the operations so they can maximize the benefits. The Fayetteville Shale play is not only about jobs and checks for mineral rights. It is also about communities using this opportunity to create the kind of long-term sustainable economic development they desire."

The UCA Faculty Chamber Series will present a concert featuring Eastern and Western composers tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the Snow Fine Arts Recital Hall. This concert is open to the public and free of charge.

A special work on the program is Five Haiku by Paul Dickinson, Theory and Composition Professor at UCA. It is a collection of short piano pieces with a Japanese influence and usage of extended techniques. This work will be performed by Stefanie Dickinson. Also on the program is a work by Chinese composer Yen Sheng Li for oboe and piano. It will be performed by oboe professor Lorraine Duso and our new director of collaborative piano Kazuo Murakami. Flute professor Carolyn Brown will be performing two pieces, Kokopeli by Katherine Hoover and Spiral Lament by Ian Clarke. The evening will end with transcriptions of tunes from Kurt Weill’s The Three Penny Opera, performed by violin professor Linda Hsu and piano professor Carl Anthony.

Lisa Christman and Debbie Bratton, Technology Faculty Associates and Lecturers in UCA's University College, were presenters at an invitation-only SMART Higher Education Sympodium User Conference in Athens, Ga. earlier this year. They joined a select group of 25 Sympodium interactive pen display enthusiasts who use interactive technology to improve learning outcomes and enhance teaching. Christman and Bratton have been using the SMART Sympodium interactive pen display after being trained by Jan Hill (formerly with the title III program) in the spring of 2005. The host of the conference was SMART Technologies, the maker of SmartBoards, Sympodiums, document cameras and other classroom technologies.

The goal of the conference was to provide a forum for users to interact with each other, and for SMART to share ideas, insights and best practices using and integrating the Sympodium (and other interactive technology solutions) in the classroom and on campuses. All participating attendees were required to host one session to facilitate the sharing aspect of the conference. Each participant was also given a SMART Airliner wireless tablet for their personal use in the classroom.

Tom Courtway is serving as interim president of UCA after Lu Hardin submitted his resignation last week.

The UCA Board of Trustees will likely call a special meeting soon to determine a process for appointing the next president of UCA. Courtway will fulfill the duties of president until a permanent replacement is named.

At the time of his appointment last week, Courtway had been the vice president and general counsel of UCA since August 2006.

Courtway received a B.A. in economics and business from Hendrix College in 1974, a J.D. with honors from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1978, and a M.L.T. from Georgetown University in 1983.

During his time as a representative of District 45 in the Arkansas General Assembly from 1995 to 2001, Courtway chaired the Revenue and Tax Committee, and also served on the Agriculture & Economic Development Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and the Insurance & Commerce Committee. Previously, Courtway worked in Washington, D.C. as a legislative aide for both U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers (from 1979-1982) and U.S. Sen. David Pryor (from 1983-1986).

Robin Becker, an instructor in UCA's Department of Writing, has had her short story "Coaster" accepted for publication by the journal Cottonwood. It will appear in the fall 2008 issue.

"Impacts of Global Economy and Women’s Employment in the Informal Economy on Family Violence" by Dr. Rifat Akhter, Assistant Professor of Sociology at UCA, has been accepted for publication in the fall 2008 edition of Global Studies Journal. Global Studies Journal is devoted to mapping and interpreting new trends and patterns in globalization. Published on a quarterly basis, this journal attempts to do this from many points of view, from many locations in the world, and in a wide-angle kaleidoscopic fashion.