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The event, "Catching, Coping and Conquering: The Fight Against HIV/AIDS," will be held Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. in Doyne Auditorium on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas. The speech is free and open to the public.

The University of Central Arkansas Chapter of Keep a Child Alive and The Lambda Upsilon Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. are hosting the event.

AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 28 million people. About 15 million children have lost one or both parents to the disease, said Shanna McCormick, president of the UCA chapter of Keep a Child Alive. Keep a Child Alive is a national non-profit organization that focuses on providing anti-retro viral medicines to children and their families who suffer from AIDS in 8 sites in 5 different countries in Africa and India.

"Every year on December 1st, AIDS organizations around the world host awareness programs so that those who have lost their lives from the disease will not be forgotten," McCormick said.

Lewis-Thornton learned at the age of 23 that she was HIV positive after donating blood for the American Red Cross. She rose to the national spotlight in 1994 when she shared her story about living with AIDS in a cover story for Essence magazine. Since then, Lewis-Thornton has traveled the world challenging stereotypes and myths about HIV and AIDS.

"It means a lot to have Rae Lewis-Thornton on the campus of UCA to speak about HIV/AIDS," McCormick said. "She is a notable Emmy award winning AIDS activist who has AIDS and what better way to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS than to have someone come and tell their story."

McCormick hopes people will leave the event with a better understanding about HIV/AIDS.

"I would hope that people will leave there knowing how important it is to protect themselves from this disease, especially young people since 60% of new infections occur in people under the age of 24," she said.

Lewis-Thornton won an Emmy award for an ongoing series of first-person reports on living with AIDS. She has been featured in numerous magazines, news programs and documentaries on the topic. She was named one of America’s 57 Most Intriguing People by Ebony Magazine in 2002 and has received numerous accolades for her work in HIV/AIDS.

Lewis-Thornton is currently working on her autobiography, "Unprotected, A Memoir."

The event is sponsored by the Student Government Association and the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2256 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:02:00 -0600 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2255 The Linguists will be shown at the University of Central Arkansas on Monday, Nov. 23 to mark the approval of the first linguistics degree program in Arkansas.

The 65-minute film will be shown at 7 p.m. in Stanley Russ Hall Room 103. The showing is free and open to the public.

The new linguistics degree, approved this fall, will enroll its first students at UCA in January.
"Language is such a fundamental part of our daily lives that we rarely stop to think about all we rely on it to accomplish — to establish relationships with others, to make (and break) promises, to describe aspects of our internal and external worlds," said Dr. Tim Thornes, assistant professor of linguistics. "All the more fascinating, from my perspective, is that there are nearly 7,000 distinct languages spoken in the world today, each one a testament to a long history of cultural development and expression."

The new program will give students an opportunity to explore the structures of both familiar languages, like English and Spanish, and ‘exotic’ languages, like Marshallese and Klamath, on an equal footing, said Thornes.

A degree in linguistics can support a wide range of careers from language teaching to computer science. Linguists are also deeply involved in attempts by minority language communities to preserve this important feature of their heritage, he said.

"With languages dying at the rate of two each month, the work of linguists in the field has taken on a new level of urgency," Thornes said.

The Linguists documents scientists David Harrison and Gregory Anderson race to document languages on the verge of extinction. The documentary premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

A discussion led by UCA linguistics professors and students will follow the film.

"We hope lots of people will come and meet our first graduates and learn firsthand what they hope to accomplish with a linguistics major and learn more about this interesting and growing field," Thornes said.

For more information, contact Thornes at (501) 450-5613 or tthornes@uca.edu.


]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2255 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:12:37 -0600 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2252
The University of Central Arkansas, Conway Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Conway vowed to build a partnership among various groups in support of service members and their families.

The community covenant was presented during UCA's annual Veterans Day Celebration at Estes Stadium on Nov. 11. Copies of the covenant will be on display in the Conway City Hall, the Conway Chamber of Commerce and other public buildings.The Community Covenant began more than year ago as an initiative of the Secretary of the U.S. Army to support the troops fighting overseas. Retired Maj. Gen Craig Whelden, who heads the community covenant program, said troop levels fighting overseas are about 10 percent compared with troop levels during World War II.

" (The Secretary of the Army) wanted to remind Americans that we are a country at war and there is a very small segment that is stepping up and going overseas to places like Iraq and Afghanistan so the rest of us can be safe back home," Whelden said.

The covenant is a symbolic demonstration of America's support for today's service members and their families, he added.

Before the presentation of the covenant, Faulkner County veterans were treated to a community tailgate, which included food, games and live music by "Bitter Harvest", a band made up of active duty Marines.

UCA President Allen Meadors thanked veterans for their service. Meadors, who served in U.S. Air Force in the Medical Service Corps from 1969 to 1973, said he saw the sacrifices the service men, women and their families made during the Vietnam War. He also acknowledged the sacrifices of active duty service men and women.

"We can never honor those folks enough," Meadors said.

Billy Conner, a Vietnam veteran, commended the university for supporting the veterans.

"I am glad that UCA is behind this," Conner said. "... We need to look at what we can do to offer support for those who are being deployed three, four, five even six times. Whether you support the war or not, that is immaterial. You got to support people who are fighting."

]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2252 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:36:07 -0600 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2254
Several hundred people attended the lecture at the Wally Hall Ballroom at the Arkansas Statehouse Convention Center on Nov. 12. The event was co-sponsored by Heifer International.

Salatin is the author of several books including Holy Cows and Hog Heaven, Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal, and Family Friendly Farming. He and his family operate Polyface, Inc., a pasture-based organic farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.
Salatin, who described himself as an environmentalist, capitalist, lunatic farmer, said current regulations favor the industrial food systems and discourages community-based food systems.

"This food safety stuff isn’t really about food safety," Salatin said. "It’s about controlling the market access to food."

He shared his story about the challenges he faced establishing his farm in Virginia, where he uses techniques such as controlled grazing, composting and grass farming.

Salatin also commented on how the food industry pushes junk foods and soft drinks as safe, but raw milk and compost-grown tomatoes as dangerous.

"How quickly we assume that what we see is normal," Salatin said. "All this junk food … I basically believe that if it didn’t exist before 1900, than it’s probably not good for you."

Salatin also touched on several regulations and pending federal laws that make entering the food market difficult for organic farmers.

"We have begun to see the backlash of taking one percent of the food market," he said.

There is a need for a "food emancipation proclamation," where the public has "a guaranteed freedom of food choice," he told the crowd.

Following his lecture, Salatin said the UCA Honors College’s focus on the food system was an appropriate and timely topic for this year’s Challenge Week.

"We are certainly in a watershed period as this pendulum is swinging over to correction now." he said. "The emphasis on this topic could not be more timely and more helpful to bring light to the need to reconnect with an integrity food system."

Challenge Week brought nationally known authors and experts including Joel Berg, a former USDA executive under the Clinton Administration and currently the Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger; Chris Taylor, producer of the film, Food Fight; Woody Tasch, a former venture capitalist and author of Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered and Marion Nestle, a Paulette Goddard professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health.

Founded in 1982, UCA's Honors College engages students in interdisciplinary study of classic thought and contemporary issues, helping them express leadership in the larger world as citizen-scholars.

]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2254 Sat, 7 Nov 2009 10:28:00 -0600 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2250
The Board of Trustees approved a policy Nov. 6 that mirrors the state law that prohibits tobacco products on campus. The use of tobacco products will not be allowed on the grounds, any vehicle owned or leased by the university and all university-owned building including off-campus housing. The ban includes smokeless tobacco products.

Anyone using tobacco products on campus could face a fine from $100 to $500, according to the state law.
The state’s Clean Air on Campus Act requires all institutions of higher education to be smoke-free no later than Aug. 1, 2010. The goal of the act is to reduce secondhand smoke exposure to nonsmokers on university campuses.

Currently, UCA allows the use of tobacco products within 25 feet from any entrance to a building.

Jack Gillean, UCA Chief of Staff, said an effort is being made to get the word out early to help faculty, staff and students be prepared for the change.

UCA will provide smoking cessation classes in the spring for faculty and staff.

Tips on how to quit smoking are available at the state’s Stamp Out Smoking website at http://www.stampoutsmoking.com.
]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2250 Sat, 7 Nov 2009 07:26:00 -0600 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2242
The Community Tailgate is slated for Nov. 11 outside of Estes Stadium.

UCA has acknowledged the contributions of service men and women since 1996. This year, the UCA community wanted to do more to thank veterans for their service.
"Veterans Day is a time when we can reach beyond our borders and serve our surrounding communities," said Melanie Epperson, the Staff Senate president and chairwoman of the UCA Veterans Day Committee. "I believe our actions should show we are good neighbors, which helps instill a sense of civic responsibility in our students."

The Veterans Day activities are funded exclusively through donations, Epperson said.

UCA's Veterans Day celebration kicks off with a Veterans Information Fair from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on the concourse at Estes Stadium. The Veterans Administration and UCA will have booths providing information from how to apply for a VA home loan to the G.I. Bill, disability support and other benefits and services.

"If you are a relative or dependent of a veteran, the information might help you," Epperson said.

The Community Tailgate will begin at noon. There will be plenty of food, games and prizes.

Bitter Harvest, a group made up of active duty Marines, will perform.

Local military and veterans organizations, vendors and student organizations will set up in the Purple Circle parking lot north of the stadium.

A luncheon for veterans will take place at the Crafton Alumni Pavilion at noon followed by a special ceremony honoring veterans at 2 p.m. at the stadium.

U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln will make remarks during the ceremony.

Retired Maj. Gen. Craig Whelden is the guest speaker. Wheldon is a former commander of the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center. He currently heads the U.S. Army Community Convenant.

UCA President Allen Meadors, city officials, representatives from veterans groups, and a student veteran will sign a covenant to show their commitment to veterans.

More than 100 balloons will be released in honor of each Arkansan killed in service since Sept. 11, 2001.

Epperson, who served in the Air Force for more than seven years, said it is important to recognize the contributions of men and women in uniform. The Community Tailgate is a small token of appreciation for their sacrifices.

"If we have the ability to do something great, we should at least try," Epperson said.

Arkansans who have died in service in Afghanistan and Iraq are listed on the Arkansas Fallen Heroes Memorial website at http://arkansaswallofhonormemorial.webs.com/wallofhonor.htm.

]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2242 Fri, 6 Nov 2009 10:18:00 -0600 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2251
The conference was held Nov. 1 at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Washington, DC.

UCA Honors College has emerged as a nationally-recognized leader in online learning communities and project-based pedagogies and was selected to lead the workshop, said Rick Scott, dean of UCA Honors College.

Fifty-five Honors administrators and faculty members registered for the workshop that covered a wide range of topics in higher education including technology and collaborative projects; classroom technological enhancements; information literacy and social networking; data collection, assessment, translating print publications for the digital world; and dynamic web presence.

Facilitators of the conference were Scott along with UCA Honors College faculty members Donna Bowman, and Philip Frana, and Honors College junior Chris Carter, an economics major.

Participants in the workshop learned how to integrate technology into the strategic vision of their own institutions in order to enhance existing objectives or pursue new ones.

Examples shared at the conference included the use of distributed information systems in education, teaching critical writing with extramural evaluation using blogs, and managing team-taught courses or collaborative projects with podcasts and wikis.

UCA is widely acclaimed in the Honors movement for its pioneering Honors College Online community, http://honors.uca.edu. The online community originated as a senior thesis project by Mike Allen, a 2005 Honors College graduate, majoring in applied mathematics.

Scott said he is greatly encouraged by the success of the workshop, which follows on the heels of an NCHC Summer Institute on Technology in Education hosted on the UCA campus in July 2007 and a special Online Communities Strand at the 2008 national meeting.

UCA’s Honors College is the current headquarters of the Southern Regional Honors Council, which will host its annual meeting in 2011 in Little Rock.

]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2251 Thu, 5 Nov 2009 12:25:00 -0600 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2249
The pageant begins at 7:30 p.m. and is hosted by Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority. Tickets are $5 for students with their student ID card and $10 for the public. Tickets will be available at 5:30 p.m. the day of the pageant.
The contestants for the 2010 Miss University of Central Arkansas are:

• Anne Lee Carter, 19, a sophomore political major from Stuttgart;

• Amber Gross, 20, a junior biology/pre-medicine major from Bee Branch;

• Alicia Haflich, 21, a senior health care administration major from Mountain Home;

• Kerry Hawkins, 20, a junior music education major from Vilonia;

• Brittany Henderson, 19, a sophomore business administration major from Prattsville;

• Lauren Howell, 19, a sophomore pre-marketing major from Conway;

• Courtney Moody, 19, a sophomore radiology major from Conway;

• Katie Segrest, 21, a junior education major from Hot Springs;

• Rebecca Smith, 19, a junior mathematics major from Conway.

The winner will receive a $6,000 scholarship to UCA and more than $4,200 in prizes. Scholarships totaling $2,150 will be awarded to other winners.

The 2010 Miss University of Central Arkansas will compete for the title of Miss Arkansas in July 2010.

Miss UCA 2009 Sara Barnett will perform along with the Alpha Sigma Alpha Phoenix dancers and the reigning Miss Arkansas Sarah Slocum, a 2008 summa cum laude graduate of UCA.


]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2249 Thu, 5 Nov 2009 12:22:59 -0600 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2243
The conference, called "A Global Dialogue on Federalism," is scheduled for Nov. 6.

Those attending the conference will discuss the preparation of a report on how American federal institutions have shaped party and interest group politics and civil discourse in the United States. Scholars will also look at how American federal governance has been affected by those same parties, interests, and civil society. Participants in the conference include The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; George Mason University in Washington D.C.; the Forum of Federations, a nongovernmental organization in Ottawa, Canada; the University of Missouri at St. Louis; and the University of Texas at Dallas, the UCA's Department of Political Science and other central Arkansas institutions of higher education.

Leaders in state and national politics and international diplomacy also will participate.

UCA political scientist Dr. Gary D. Wekkin was selected as the country coordinator of the United States national conference, which will be held at UCA. Dr. Wekkin will co-author a report on parties and federalism in the United States with UCA political scientist Dr. Joe Howard.

Dr. Wekkin said that the conference and UCA's role in it was "unsolicited and unexpected, and a significant acknowledgement of the political science profession’s respect for the quality of the faculty of the UCA Political Science Department, all of whom will be contributing in some degree to the conference and its report."

Similar conferences on the interactions of federal structure and politics in other countries are being held concurrently at the Australian National University in Canberra, the Universite Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, the Universitat Magdeburg in Germany, Jain University in Bangalore, India, the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang, the Center for Democracy and Development in Lagos, Nigeria, the University of the Western Cape in Capetown, South Africa, the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain, and the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

The country coordinators of these conferences will gather to present the resulting national reports at an International Roundtable on Parties in Federal Systems in Berlin in 2010. The roundtable is sponsored by the Forum of Federations and the International Association of Centers for Federal Studies.

The resulting reports will be published globally so that political reformers in democratizing countries can derive lessons from the successes as well as failures of existing federal systems, Dr. Wekkin said. Monographs of fewer than 100 pages for political activists and a larger collection of country essays for professional students of federalism will be published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in Montreal.

The Forum of Federations is the financial sponsor of the conference being held at UCA. Arrangements for the conference are being handled by the College of Liberal Arts staff and Dean Maurice A. Lee.
]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2243 Wed, 4 Nov 2009 22:00:00 -0600 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2248
The lecture, "Sports Fans and the Teams They Love (and Love to Hate)", is based on Aden's most recent book Huskerville: A Story of Nebraska, Football, Fans, and the Power of Place. The book gives an in-depth look at the football landscape in the state of Nebraska and the relationship between the fans and Cornhusker football.

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the lobby of Thompson Hall on the UCA campus.
Aden is a professor of communication in the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He specializes in the rhetorical studies, communication in place and popular culture.

His lecture is a part of UCA’s Artists in Residence program.

Aden believes those who attend the lecture do not have to be sports fans to learn from his presentation.

"I hope that everyone, especially those who do not follow sports, will appreciate that communication about sports is often about more than sports," Aden said. "In fact, sports communication is often about matters central to all of us: our values, our cultural membership, our understanding of where we belong--as well as the values and beliefs that we do not embrace."

The idea of sport as cultural membership can be seen in other states including Arkansas. Much like the Huskers from the University of Nebraska, the Razorbacks from the University of Arkansas have long been a sports icon and source of emotional engagement for Arkansans.

Aden will be on campus interacting with students and answering questions about his research. His residency begins in Dr. Nelle Bedner’s communication class at 9:25 a.m. in Thompson Hall, Room 206.

The Mu Theta Chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the honors society for communication majors, will hold a reception for Aden during the x-period. The event will be held in Thompson Hall, Room 331 and is open to all members of the UCA community.

Dr. Bedner, who wrote the residency proposal to bring Aden to campus, believes that Aden will appeal to a wider and more diverse audience.

"While not everyone has an interest in the fine arts, just about everyone has an interest in sports. Perhaps Roger Aden’s residency and public presentation will encourage more students to learn to appreciate both," Bedner said.

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

For more information about the event, contact Nelle Bedner at (501)450-5601 or nelleb@uca.edu or the Office of the Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication at (501) 450-3293.


]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2248 Wed, 4 Nov 2009 15:00:38 -0600