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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=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 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2247
The award was announced during the association’s fall conference held Oct. 22-23 at the Embassy Suites in Little Rock. It is given to individuals for their exceptional contribution to the association and to their profession.

“I did not expect this award,” Robison said. “I am truly honored and appreciate the association giving me this award. As upcoming president, I plan to do my best to live up to the expectations of this award.”

Robison started her career at UCA in August 1995 as a counselor. In 1997, she was promoted to assistant director. She was named the associate director of Student Financial Aid in 2001.

Before coming to UCA, Robison worked in financial aid at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.

Robison has been a member of the Arkansas Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators since 1995. She has served on the association’s Financial Aid Awareness Committee and the Fall Conference Committee. In 2005, Robison was elected to the AASFAA Board as delegate at large. She was elected President-Elect of the association last year. Her term as president begins 2010.

The Arkansas Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators is made up of representatives from colleges, universities, lending institutions and scholarship organizations. The association also provides scholarship opportunities to students in the state through organization fund-raisers.



]]> Faculty & Staff http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2247 Tue, 3 Nov 2009 09:25:40 -0600 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2244
The award will be presented by the Arkansas Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts during a reception Nov. 5 at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock.

The ACTELA has recognized outstanding English and Language Arts teachers since 2004. Winners are selected based on their professionalism, service and accomplishments in the field of English and Language Arts.
“It’s extremely humbling to be honored for doing work that is so rewarding,” says Dr. Vanderslice. “I’m grateful to those in ACTELA who saw fit to give me the award and to ACTELA for choosing to honor the work of English and Language Arts teachers at every level, elementary, secondary and university.”

Trina Bright, the selection committee chairwoman, said Dr. Vanderslice represents “the best of the best” in the field of English and Language Arts.

“We were especially pleased with the variety of students to which Stephanie contributes, the countless hours that she spends with The Arkansas Literary Festival, and The Great Bear Writer's Project, and her dedication to be a writer herself as she writes for her blog and the variety of writing that she submits to various other publications,” says Bright.

Dr. Vanderslice, an associate professor, joined the University of Central Arkansas faculty in 1997. She teaches writing, creative writing, and teaching creative writing courses.

“Sometimes people ask me what I’d be doing if I wasn’t writing and teaching writing and I often can’t come up with anything,” says Dr. Vanderslice. “I have a dream job. I truly love working with words and teaching college students.”

Among her other passions is enhancing the teaching of creative writing nationally and internationally, says Dr. Vanderslice. She has edited and co-written two books on the subject with her colleague Dr. Kelly Ritter, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Dr. Vanderslice has also published many articles on the subject and co-edited a special issue of the national journal College English last January. She is currently working on a book, Revising Creative Writing in Higher Education: Programs and Practices That Work, that is under review at Professional and Higher, a new publisher in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Vanderslice has published fiction, nonfiction, various anthologies and journals, and her blog www.wordamour.wordpress.com.

She currently serves as the director of the Great Bear Writing Project, formerly the National Writing Project of Central Arkansas. The project supports Arkansas teachers in the teaching of writing across subject areas and grade levels and professional development.

In the last few years, Dr. Vanderslice became involved with the writing project at the national level, first as a member of the National Writing Project Rural Sites Network leadership team and later as a co-director of that team.

]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2244 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:40:00 -0500 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2246
He directed his gift to the university's College of Business in support of scholarships and the college's new $16 million building.

A portion of his gift will support the Accounting Partner scholarship fund for students studying in the master of accountancy program within the UCA College of Business.

The remainder of his gift will support the new 78,000-square-foot College of Business building, which is under construction, located behind Wingo Hall, facing Donaghey. The new building will include a 168-seat auditorium, eight tiered lecture halls, two flat classrooms, two computer labs, and 61 faculty offices. Additionally the new building will feature numerous conference rooms, a graduate lounge, and space for each of the college's centers and institutes. The building is scheduled to open in the spring.

Rasmussen is president of Rasmussen Tax Group, a team of industry specialists empowering restaurant owners to have more personal time, grow their business and be more profitable through innovative technology and personalized service that simplifies tax planning, accounting and business solutions.

Rasmussen Tax Group has created a high-tech environment that allows select students the opportunity to become employed with the company during their senior year of college or while working on their master’s degree.

Rasmussen earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting at Mesa College in Grand Junction, Colo., and a master’s degree in taxation from Golden Gate University. He was a tax manager for Ernst & Young for seven years and then a CPA in California and Arkansas for 25 years. He also contributes monthly articles to Pizza Magazine Quarterly online.

He and his wife, Diane, have been married for 23 years and have two children.

Rasmussen’s generous contribution will be recognized with a naming opportunity for a faculty office in the department of accounting suite in the new College of Business building.

“The Accounting Department and many of our students have greatly benefitted from Mr. Rasmussen’s generosity,” said Department of Accounting Chair Dr. Trish Mounce. “He has been not just an employer, but a wonderful mentor to many of our students.”

For more information about making a contribution to the College of Business building or another campaign priority, contact the UCA Foundation at 501-450-5288.

- Jennifer Boyett

]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2246 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:48:00 -0500 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2245
He directed his gift to the university’s College of Business in support of scholarships and the college’s new $16 million building.

A portion of his gift will support the Accounting Partner scholarship fund for students studying in the master of accountancy program within the UCA College of Business.

The remainder of his gift will support the new 78,000-square-foot College of Business building, which is under construction, located behind Wingo Hall, facing Donaghey. The new building will include a 168-seat auditorium, eight tiered lecture halls, two flat classrooms, two computer labs, and 61 faculty offices. Additionally the new building will feature numerous conference rooms, a graduate lounge, and space for each of the college's centers and institutes. The building is scheduled to open in the spring.

Rasmussen is president of Rasmussen Tax Group, a team of industry specialists empowering restaurant owners to have more personal time, grow their business and be more profitable through innovative technology and personalized service that simplifies tax planning, accounting and business solutions.

Rasmussen Tax Group has created a high-tech environment that allows select students the opportunity to become employed with the company during their senior year of college or while working on their master’s degree.

Rasmussen earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting at Mesa College in Grand Junction, Colo., and a master’s degree in taxation from Golden Gate University. He was a tax manager for Ernst & Young for seven years and then a CPA in California and Arkansas for 25 years. He also contributes monthly articles to Pizza Magazine Quarterly online.

He and his wife, Diane, have been married for 23 years and have two children.

Rasmussen’s generous contribution will be recognized with a naming opportunity for a faculty office in the department of accounting suite in the new College of Business building.

“The Accounting Department and many of our students have greatly benefitted from Mr. Rasmussen’s generosity,” said Department of Accounting Chair Dr. Trish Mounce. “He has been not just an employer, but a wonderful mentor to many of our students.”

For more information about making a contribution to the College of Business building or another campaign priority, contact the UCA Foundation at 501-450-5288.

]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2245 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:48:00 -0500 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2241
Her collection of high-profile interviews, letters and photographs are now on display at the University of Central Arkansas Archives.

A portion of Jansen's collection was unveiled Oct. 26 during a reception in the Mirror Room in McAlister Hall.
Jansen, a former news anchor at Little Rock television station KTHV Channel 11, donated her collection following her retirement in February 2008.

Instead of her work rotting away in an attic, the collection will be preserved and shared with future generations, Jansen said.

“I always thought of myself as a historian as well as a journalist because I do think that journalists are documenting the present for future generations,” Jansen said.

Jansen’s collection isn’t about her but about the people behind the stories, she said.

“They are the ones who are really worthy of being remembered,” Jansen said. “I am thrilled that someone else saw the value of my collection, my boxes of junk.”

Jansen began her career at KTHV in 1982 and was later promoted to news anchor.

The collection spans Jansen’s 25 years as a television journalist and includes selected interviews, professional and personal correspondences, photographs, and awards she received for her involvement in the community, said Jimmy Bryant, director of the UCA Archives.

“Anne’s collection will tell current and future researchers what the concerns were in Arkansas’s society the latter part of the 20th century and the early part of the 21st century,” Bryant said. “… If researchers want to know what made the news in the late 20th century or the early 21st century, all they would have to do is go to UCA Archives and look at Anne Jansen’s collection.”

Her collection also tells the state’s history and illustrates the media’s role in documenting history. It also shows the historical value of those Jansen interviewed during her career, Bryant said.

“She interviewed a wide-range of people representing many different occupations,” Bryant said. “However, none of this would be happening if she had not donated her papers to UCA. I want to thank you for donating your papers, for helping to preserve history and entrusting UCA Archives with your life’s work.”

Bryant commended Jansen for her dedication to her profession and her work with various organizations including the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the Arkansas Chapter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Boy Scouts of America.

UCA Provost Lance Grahn stressed the importance of preserving history because of the constantly changing method of communication.

“Most of us here are old enough to have seen the evolution in our culture in the way we communicate with each other,” Grahn said. “That communication evolved from letters, to email, to now tweets. Who knows what will come after tweets – the digital age of tweets, where our stories are reduced to a 145 characters. It is so important that we choose to preserve our stories. That we choose to make our stories, our memories, our history available to those who are coming behind us."
]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2241 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:40:00 -0500 http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/?itemid=2234
Stein will appear at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29.
Stein has a varied professional background, having worked as a speech writer and lawyer for Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, E! Online and the New York Times. According to his Web site, www.benstein.com, he has written a lengthy diary for 20 years for The American Spectator. For many years, he has written a column about personal finance for Yahoo! and is a commentator for CBS Sunday Morning and for Fox News.

Stein has also written, co-written and published 30 books. He has acted in movies, television and commercials and was the host of the Comedy Central quiz show, Win Ben Stein’s Money, which won seven Emmy Awards. His part of the boring teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was recently ranked as one of the 50 most famous scenes in American film.

“As someone who has ‘been there and done that,’ Ben Stein is a perfect first speaker for the new Distinguished Lecture Series,” said Jerry Biebesheimer, director of Public Appearances at UCA. “He is a graduate of Columbia University and Yale Law School, and in addition to his well known TV and movie career, has worked as a poverty and trial lawyer, taught at American University the University of California at Santa Cruz, and at Pepperdine University.”

CNN’s Soledad O’Brien will give the next lecture in the UCA series on Feb. 18.

Tickets for the Distinguished Lecture Series are $10 for the general public, $5 for the UCA community, and free for UCA students with a current student ID.

For tickets, call (501) 450-3265 or toll free from anywhere in Arkansas at (866)810-0012 or visit www.uca.edu/tickets.

For more information, call UCA Public Appearances at (501) 450-3682 or e-mail jerryb@uca.edu



]]> Campus Life http://www.uca.edu/web/weblog/index.php?itemid=2234 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:32:00 -0500