By Mike Kemp

When he was recently given a standing ovation during a University of Central Arkansas board of trustees meeting, UCA Distinguished Professor Emeritus Dr. Norbert Schedler was at a loss for words.

Sitting in his front row chair, he held his hand to his chin to keep his emotions in check, and accepting the adulation of his colleagues as his name was given to the program he has spent the majority of his professional career nurturing.

“I was thinking about how much I now want to softly go into the future,” Schedler said.

Trustee Elizabeth Farris, whose father, the late UCA President Jeff Farris, gave Schedler the go ahead to begin the Honors College, read from a prepared statement to propose naming the program after Schedler. It recounted how the program began with Schedler thinking aloud with Farris as the two sat in the shade of a tree near the administration building in August of 1981.

The program started with a $600 budget and a handful of students; today, there are 264 students enrolled in the program, helping the “severely gifted” receive a degree based on a close-knit relationship with their faculty and educational opportunities not available to every student.

“I got forced into being an administrator,” Schedler said. “It’s not something I chose. The dean at Purdue, when I got the John F. Kennedy Educator of the Year, in his statement to the public, he said, ‘Norb hovers over what is and imagines what could be.’ In essence, I’ve always been a daydreamer.

“In my next life, I want to be an architect; you draw the plans and let somebody else build it. Somebody said, ‘That’s what Norb is; he’s an intellectual architect.’”

Some of the opportunities for Honors students include participating in the Travel Abroad Grants (TAG) program, offering financial support for students to study across the globe; and the Undergraduate Research Grants in Education (URGE), allowing scholarships for research and creative projects.

The end result is evident. With a median ACT score over 30 for Honors College students, the program boasts a 90 percent graduate rate, and 80 percent continue their learning through advanced training. The program has produced national recognition among the students, with Truman, Rhodes, Goldwater, Fulbright and Rotary Ambassador Scholars as well as a Cooke Fellow.

Not only did Schedler want to create an environment where students could realize their potential and excel, he wanted to create an educational experience based on community among students and faculty.

“I’m very much into the students participating in a community and that community having a collection of stories about its origin, about how it developed, about what its pedagogy is,” he said. “A lot of students have had a lot of encounters with all kind of different people, who take them on all sorts of retreats, and say, “You remember when we . . .?” I thought that was important in the Honors College . . . You’re part of a story, you’re part of a narrative, and I see a very tight connection in that sort of way.”

Although he admits he prefers to dream plans and let others administrate, Schedler never backed away from helping the “severely gifted” work around any hindrances they faced.

“As an administrator, as a mentor, I see the primary task as helping students deal with roadblocks that stand in their way of finding out just how good they are. I think a lot of the students would say, ‘I went and saw Norb and he said, you can do it,’ and they did, and they came back to report to me about what they’ve done, to me that’s one of the greatest thrills academically.

“Just imagine, to see on a student’s face their awareness, to come to realize just how good they are and how well they’ve done out there in the big world. A lot of them have never left Arkansas. You give them an URGE grant and they go off to Johns Hopkins and do research and they are interacting with kids from Ivy League schools and they did just as well. Think of how empowering that is for them, to see that on their faces, ‘I did it!’ To me, that’s the joy I’ve had of being a teacher.”

“I’m a word philosopher, so I love language. One of the expressions that models a great deal of what I do is the word pedagogy. It is the science of teaching.

“The interesting thing is that the root of that word is foot. Now, why ever would it be foot? Because the early teachers in western culture were the Greek slaves who walked with the rich young Roman boys to the agora, and the job of the slave is to get them ready to participate with virtue in the public arena. That has been a controlling image for me in terms of what I would hope my legacy would be. Students and faculty get together and walk to the public space where politics is done, business is done, and we prepare each other with the virtues that we need to be successful and have a healthy society.”

With plans for Alumni Socials already under way in three communities across the state, Dr. Linda Beene Ballard and other members of the University of Central Arkansas Alumni Association Board are enthusiastic about the revival of these once-popular events

“Our effort this year is to reinstate these events which formerly were statewide. The goal is to bring alumni and former UCA students together to share information about all the exciting and progressive developments at UCA,” Beene Ballard said.

Beene Ballard said the socials, planned for late April and early- and mid-May, are expected to draw alumni, business people and even parents of current students “just to make sure they know all the exciting things that are going on at UCA.”

“Our having these events in the spring is a good first step as the people who are actually responsible for recruiting students come in the fall so that’s a good partnership,” Beene Ballard added.

Mr. Ron Patterson, Director of Undergraduate Admissions, said his department is partnering with the Alumni Association Board in the socials as a means to reach alumni for recruiting of potential students.

“Our role in this is basically asking our alums to partner with us to assist us in recruiting back in their local high schools, businesses and organizations in their local communities,” Patterson said. “We feel this is a great opportunity to keep our alums connected and a part of UCA long after they have graduated.”

Beene Ballard, who graduated in 1972, said she is eager to work with the admissions department and with alumni in informing them of all the happenings on campus.

“It is all about connecting with the alumni,” Beene Ballard said, who added that it was the vision of Alumni Association Board President Karen Sullards to reinstate the socials.

The first three socials will be held in Stuttgart, Hot Springs and Harrison, beginning at 5 p.m. to give plenty of time for business people and community leaders to attend the events. Beene Ballard said UCA President Tom Courtway had expressed interest in attending some of the socials.

The success of the first three socials will lead to expanded events next spring. Beene Ballard said those attending should expect a casual atmosphere.

“When President Coutway is able to come, he will be our star in making contact with local alumni,” Beene Ballard said. “We will make it possible for him to say a few words, and otherwise it will just be visiting and catching up and making sure that we get alumni’s help in getting more alumni engaged.”

Engaging alumni is also a goal of the undergraduate admission department.

“These socials are a great opportunity for us to reach alumni,” Patterson said. “I have been involved in this type of recruiting before and one of the things that I was excited about when coming to UCA was the chance to begin an admissions alumni program here, knowing the value that it brings not only to undergraduate admissions, but also to the university.”

Patterson added that when alumni recruit students, they are able to share and display the same school spirit that won them over and encouraged them to attend UCA.

The socials are planned for the following dates and places:

• Grand Prairie Center, Room C
  UA Phillips Community College, Stuttgart
  April 23
  5 - 7 p.m.
• Atrium, Dierks Nursing Building
  National Park Community College, Hot Springs
  May 9
  5 - 7 p.m.
• Durand Center, North Arkansas College
  First Federal Bank Room
  Downtown Harrison
  May 14
  5 - 7 p.m.

Alumni interested in attending the socials or assisting in recruiting can receive more information by contacting the UCA Alumni Association and the Undergraduate Admissions department. For more information visit uca.edu/alumni.

To commemorate the place where they met. To memorialize a dear brother. To encourage current and potential students. To give their name a place to live forever.

These are just a few reasons that alumni have purchased bricks for the UCA Legacy Walk, located in the heart of the campus in front of the student center near Old Main and Ferguson Chapel.

Each 4- by 8-inch brick is stamped with more than a name or graduation year. Pride in an alma mater is pressed into each step on the walk.

The UCA Legacy Walk is a timeless tradition, according to Haley Fowler, assistant director of Alumni Services.

“It represents alumni that have walked on this campus beginning with the first graduating class of 1909,” she said. “It represents our school’s history with four name changes: Normal School, Arkansas State Teachers College, State College of Arkansas and the University of Central Arkansas.”

Fowler said the brick she purchased helps create school pride, spirit and tradition.

“I’d known that the university was going to build something like this and I wanted to be a part of it,” said Darrell Horton, class of 1971, who purchased a brick with his wife, Karen. “I thought it was important for students of all ages to realize that others have come before and have that sense of history.”

The Hortons, who have lived and taught music in Anchorage, Alaska, for the past 20 years, put inspiring quotes along with their names and graduation years. One says “Music is Eternal,” and the other “Music Lives Forever.” The Hortons are retiring at the end of this school year and plan to return to the central Arkansas area.

On their list of things to do is visit the site of their bricks.

“The UCA Legacy Walk is a good way to have your name remembered,” Horton said. “If alumni were music majors or in orchestra or band, it is a really good way to encourage younger students if you put something musical on the brick. We hope to become more involved in concerts and student activities at UCA after we retire.”

Kyle and Kristin Basham now live in Knoxville, Tenn., while Kyle, who recently finished medical school, works on his residency and Kristin teaches. While they have wonderful memories of their time at UCA, Kristin said it means the most to her because it is where they met.

“It was where we began our lives together and we are proud to be alumni,” Kristin said. She and her husband purchased bricks for themselves, with words meaningful to them. It was one of the first times Dr. Kyle Basham, class of ’07, used M.D. after his name, having almost finished medical school when he purchased the brick. Kristin says simply “Class of ‘09” and “Go Bears.”

“We were really excited UCA did this,” said Kristin, who has been encouraging her brother, also an alumnus, to purchase a piece of the Legacy Walk, “because it stays forever.”

Kyle added that they also wished to support the foundation and the alumni association. “No one else will have a brick like yours,” he said. “It is a good way to be a part of history.”

Jay Hefner, class of ’81, first thought of purchasing a brick to honor his brother, Ron, who died from cancer in 1994. Ron was an alumnus, having graduated in 1971, and meant a lot to his family, especially his little brother.

“Originally I had just wanted to get one for him,” Hefner said. “Then I got to thinking about it and we’ve got several people in our family who have graduated from UCA and I thought it was a good idea to celebrate the fact that we had all graduated from UCA.”

The purchase of one brick led to the purchase of five more – for Hefner, his wife, his two daughters and one son-in-law.

Hefner said his brother would have loved to have had a brick in the walk, explaining that Ron was 10 years older, and they shared a love of sports. Hefner now officiates football and his brother umpired softball and baseball. Hefner explained that his brother was an Arkansas and UCA fan, especially when he lived in Texas.

“I would encourage others to purchase bricks. UCA has been very good for my family,” he said. “We’ve gotten a good education there and I’m very pleased with what they are doing now educationally and in the sports program.” He also praised Tom Courtway’s leadership as university president.

Fowler encouraged alumni to add their distinctive bricks to the walk and visit the walk in the future.

“This is a great opportunity for alumni to come back to campus and see how it has grown,” she said.

UCA graduates may still purchase a personalized brick to be placed with other classmates’ bricks around the amphitheater. For more information about the Legacy Walk, visit uca.edu/legacywalk.

University of Central Arkansas alumni and friends will have a chance to enjoy some peanuts and Cracker Jacks in the outfield of Dickey Stephens Park on UCA Night with the Arkansas Travelers in June.

The event will be held Friday, June 14, starting at 6:10 and will feature a casual buffet of burgers, hot dogs, beans, chips, popcorn and soft drinks.

This is the third year for the event, which is held in the Pinnacle Structures Pavilion overlooking right field of the park. In addition to the dinner, attendees receive tickets for that evening’s game, which will feature the Travs squaring off against the Tulsa Drillers.

The event has proven to be a popular one, with numerous attendees returning year after year. Mark and Cindy Fowler of Mayflower have made it to every one.

“We like to attend because we like to go to see the Travelers at least once a year but we really like to see some of the alumni that we don't get to see at other events during the year,” Mark said. “We know several people that can't come during the fall for the tailgates, but that do take a vacation in the summer and make Alumni Night at the Travelers Game part of their plans.

“It is always fun to get together with friends and enjoy a night at the ballpark, even if the field is not purple and gray striped” he added.

Tickets are $15 each and be on sale May 1-30 and can be purchased online at uca.edu/alumni or by calling the alumni office at (501) 852-2955.

Honors College students at the University of Central Arkansas, like most other students at UCA, have myriad opportunities to grow as students and humanitarians; however, two programs open only to Honors College students give them an extra nudge to reach their goals.

Travel Abroad Grants (TAG) and Undergraduate Research Grants in Education (URGE) “aim to enlarge the scope of undergraduate experience, to better prepare Honors College students for post-baccalaureate training and to make tangible international contact that now characterizes the globalization of intellectual labor,” according to Honors College Dean Dr. Rick Scott.

The programs also allow students to participate in programs, internships and research projects across the campus, which benefit faculty and programs in other UCA colleges and disciplines, Scott added.

Formalized in 1993, the travel abroad programs began earlier with endowments from the McCastlain, Shedler and Vail families. Financial support from the university allowed TAG to grow, and URGE to become an option for students.

Today, funds help support the endeavors of about 60 Honors students each year.

“Students receiving grants represent the breadth of the campus and often participate in summer programs offered by the UCA faculty,” Scott said.

The programs not only allow students to study culture and language, but sometimes set the stage for students to witness history. In 1989, UCA student Ed Tanguay was traveling to Germany using funds from endowments. During his time there, he saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the end of the Cold War that had gripped the United States and Eastern Europe for many decades. Today, Tanguay lives in Berlin with his wife and daughters.

Scott said the grants are “transformative” for the approximately 900 students who have traveled, studied, researched and pursued internships because of TAG/URGE.

“Honors students gain confidence to compete, or compare themselves, with students from larger, more prestigious schools, and this increased confidence leads our students to apply and be accepted to better graduate and professional schools,” Scott stated.

When Isaac Jones used a $3,000 TAG award in 2010 to intern with Projects Abroad, a human rights organization that places students in volunteer positions worldwide, he already cared about social justice. But his experience with juveniles in the South African justice system gave him, for the first time, a practical outlet for his enthusiasm, and a first-hand look at the complex problems to be solved in a rapidly changing world.

He returned to campus eager to present a Soapbox (a voluntary Friday afternoon presentation) to educate his fellow students on what he had done and learned, and to motivate them to get involved. And his travel led directly to original research for his undergraduate Honors thesis on the role of non-governmental organizations in human rights monitoring.

Wilson Alobuia, who graduated last year, received an internship at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences through its Center for Diversity Affairs in 2009, thanks to the URGE program.

“I’d never been in a lab before but was fortunate to work with Dr. Alexei Basnakian, a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology,” Alobuia said. “Dr. Basnakian had me collect data for research on human vascular endothelial cells. My work produced direct evidence about the role played by a DNA-degrading enzyme in cellular damage. I co-authored an abstract submitted to the Arkansas Biosciences Institute fall symposium, which led to publication of a full article in the American Journal of Physiology.”

The following summer, Alobuia, through the University of Alabama at Birmingham for International Health Research, worked with the Jamaican Ministry of Health, visiting various hospitals and interviewing patients and their families on their knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever.

The next summer, Alobuia was selected to participate in the summer internship program at Johns Hopkins University.

“We found evidence that patients’ race and gender, underlying lung disease, and testing location impact our ability to interpret results of pulmonary function test quality, Alobuia said. “Being a member of the Honors College has enhanced my understanding of the importance of civic responsibility through research.”

To receive the grants, Honors College students submit applications, and grants are awarded based on the applications’ quality. Honors students can apply only after completing a full year of Honors College courses, and they must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, Scott explained.

The application includes a narrative to explain the academic merit, impact of the experience, a plan for dissemination of what they learned, a budget, the itinerary and study plans, and the student’s vita or academic accomplishments.

It is scored with a rubric during two independent evaluations, one by the dean and the second by the associate dean, and then the award is administered by the Director of Student Engagement.

The grants themselves are the means, but what the students do with their opportunities shape their lives.

“Because they are deposited into unfamiliar cultures, social contexts, economic development levels and professional settings, grant recipients learn on their feet,” Scott said.

For more information, visit honors.uca.edu.

By Donna Lampkin Stephens
Courtesy of 501 Life

Dr. Joe Allison, a research fellow at Phillips 66, and Terry Pillow, CEO of Tommy Bahama Group, will be named Distinguished Alumni at the third University of Central Arkansas Night of Distinction on Saturday, April 27.

The gala evening will also celebrate Patsy Minton Newton’s Alumni Service award and the naming of the UCA Honors College in honor of its founder, Dr. Norb Schedler.

Doors will open at 5:45 p.m. at the Farris Center for the 6:30 p.m. gala. A VIP reception at the skyboxes at Estes Stadium will begin at 5 p.m.

DR. JOE ALLISON

"I would have never considered (myself) being worthy of the award," Allison said. "When you consider the list of previous Distinguished Alumni, to be considered in the same group is humbling in itself."

Allison, who grew up in Little Rock and graduated from Pulaski Robinson High School, is a 1979 UCA graduate with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Purdue and has worked in Research and Development at ConocoPhillips since 1983. He is the inventor or co-inventor on nearly 60 U.S. patents or patents pending and several dozen international patents.

Allison is an expert on alternative fuels, process chemistry and catalysis. He discovered his true loves at UCA:

“First, the challenge and enjoyment that chemistry has to offer. The second, and more important, was the challenge and enjoyment of courting and marrying” the former Laura Hollenbeck, to whom he has now been married for 34 years.

He met Laura during their first-year chemistry class.

"We were best friends during our time assisting in laboratories in the department," he said. "We had many of the same classes together and at the end of our junior year we fell madly in love and were married six months later, in December of 1978."

He lived in State Hall for four years.

"Campus life was enjoyable, and I had a great time (at times too great)," he said. "The camaraderie of good friends in Christian Cafeteria or watching ‘Gunsmoke’ reruns on our 12-inch black and white TV is often fondly remembered. I was an avid Bears fan for both football and basketball. Monte Coleman was the star on the football team during those years."

After graduate school, he started his career at Conoco, now Phillips 66, in Ponca City, Okla. He was named a 2010 Fellow of the American Chemical Society and Distinguished Alumnus of the Purdue Department of Chemistry the same year. In 2008, he won the Oklahoma Chemist Award.

He said he and his wife (who also earned a B.S. in chemistry in '79) hold UCA's Chemistry Department as a model undergraduate teaching group through the personal faculty-student interactions "and the outstanding undergraduate research opportunities they provide."

"One of the fondest memories we have is of the trips to chemistry meetings to present our UCA undergraduate research work," Allison said. "Often we would have five to 10 students and two to three faculty members crammed in a University van to attend these meetings. The experience of presenting your research work with other undergraduates, professors and industrial chemists is most rewarding."

The Allisons, who now live in Bartlesville, Okla., have established an endowed fund with the UCA Foundation to provide travel monies for UCA chemistry students to present their undergraduate research results at regional and national meetings.

He said his involvement in the UCA Chemistry Department grew from being one of a pack of incoming freshmen to a lab assistant during a special research project.

“I most enjoyed the personal interactions of the faculty (I think there were only five full-time and one half-time members) in both the classroom, as a lab assistant and finally, in a research program," he said. "During the more advanced courses there were usually five or so in the entire class. The hands-on instrumentation experiences that the faculty allowed stead us well for future work and graduate school.

"Laura and I were very pleased that we were as well, and even better, prepared for graduate school at Purdue as those that went to any large university."

Laura Allison is a retired chief chemist from ConocoPhillips. They have two children, Brent, who lives in Tulsa, and Tara, who lives in Lubbock, Texas.

TERRY PILLOW

Pillow, who grew up in Corning, earned his bachelor of business administration degree in marketing in 1976. He was active in Sigma Tau Gamma and was a class officer.

“Being honored by your Alma Mater is one of the greatest and humbling events in life. It has been a long time, but I'm often reminded of how influential my time at UCA has been in my life,” Pillow said.

“Most important was the UCA community: Lifelong friendships of mine were formed at UCA, and I've not forgotten my talented and patient mentors in the classroom, on the field, and in my off-campus jobs. These were people who provided encouragement and allowed me to try new ideas and become confident. In short, it's the reason I've been successful today.”

Pillow arrived in Conway to attend what was then State College of Arkansas (renamed UCA in 1975). As a student, he worked at Browning and White, a men’s store in the city. After graduation, he joined the executive training program at Niemen Marcus in Dallas.

He joined Tommy Bahama in 2008, taking over the chief executive position from company co-founder Tony Margolis.

The Tommy Bahama Group has more than 1,500 employees and does approximately $500 million in sales revenue. As CEO, Pillow is responsible for the overall direction and expansion of the popular lifestyle brand, which includes a men’s and women’s apparel collection, more than 100 retail stores, 14 restaurants and a licensing business that includes accessories, fragrance, a complete home collection and international partnerships.

His career spans 30 years in the apparel, footwear and accessories business. He has held executive leadership positions with several of the world’s most successful and renowned brands, including A/X Armani Exchange, Coach and Polo Ralph Lauren.

“UCA is built on a reputation of excellence and I'm proud to be an alumnus of an institution that stands by its commitment,” Pillow said. “I applaud the faculty, staff and students at UCA, from years past and today, who keep this great tradition going.”

PATSY NEWTON

Newton, a 1952 graduate, will receive the Alumni Service Award. Newton, a lifetime member of the UCA Alumni Association, is serving her third term on its board of directors. She chaired the 1952 class reunion, served on several alumni association committees and as secretary of the association and chaired the UCA President’s Residence committee.

“I grew up in Conway, and pretty much on the ASTC campus, so my roots are here from way back," said Newton, who, following graduation, didn't return to Conway to live until 2001. "You can imagine the changes at UCA I discovered and what an impression the university made when I began to get involved with the Alumni Association and other activities on campus.

"Conway is a really great place to live. I am thrilled to have received this award and look forward to more opportunities to stay informed and serve."

Proceeds from the evening will support the $3 million Honors College Campaign that will support Travel Abroad Grants (TAG) and Undergraduate Research Grants for Education (URGE).

The evening will also continue a day-long celebration of the naming of the UCA Honors College in honor of the well-loved Schedler, its founder. The Honors College became the university’s first named college, while celebrating 30th anniversary. It was founded during the 1982-83 academic year.

For more information about Night of Distinction or to order tickets visit uca.edu/gala.

Haley Fowler, Assistant Director of Alumni Services, hopes the Mentor Connection program will help build up not only the resumes of young alumni and students, but also will push the university further into the future of education.

Fowler, along with the Young Alumni Chapter, and the support of the provost and the Council of Deans, launched the Mentor Connection program just this year and has reached its goal of 40 mentors for the programs initiation.

“Young alumni need to know they have a lot to offer,” Fowler said. “We’ve had a great response from the alums.”

Mentor Connection is a partnership between a current University of Central Arkansas student and a young alumnus, helping to establish relationships that provide a learning experience for the students and a leadership opportunity for the alumni. Mentor Connection provides a personal development relationship for everyone involved.

Students get a unique opportunity to “try on” their major before heading out into the world with degrees, while mentors get to help build up their own professional networks and get the satisfaction of helping a newbie on his or her career path.

Fowler said the Young Alumni Chapter formed a Leaders Council two years ago and the group began researching ways to get more of a connection between professionals and those about to enter the workforce, and how it could involve young alumni.

The program itself lasts only seven weeks, and during that time, the mentor and student must connect with each other at least every two weeks. Fowler said she would encourage those who wished to connect more often to do so.

“Mentor Connection stemmed from my career in Human Resources. I’m always looking for ways to engage my employees and help them gain leadership experience, especially those that are not in management roles,” said Events Chair for the Young Alumni Chapter Leaders Board Jennifer Williams. “I created a program that allowed for younger employees to mentor the newest employees. Consequently, it’s helped make the new employees feel more confident and connected with the company.”

Williams added that the program at her place of employment and reported that the program cuts down on errors made during their first three to six months of employment; and also enabled the mentors to demonstrate their leadership skills without having direct reports.

“It has been a huge success and a few of the mentors have been promoted into management positions,” Williams said. “After talking to [Fowler], I thought there is no reason why a mentor program can’t work at UCA!”

“This mentor program was really needed here,” Fowler added. “Almost every other university has a similar program, so we were very excited when we began working on this.”

Williams said Mentor Connection has been getting good feedback from participants, noting that the nature of the program is different from an internship.
“We didn’t realize at the time how much alumni and students are thirsting for a program like Mentor Connection,” Williams said. “It is so different from an internship where students get graded and still have to impress their employer. Mentor Connection allows students to be completely open with their mentor and ask those tricky questions we all had while in school.”

Fowler and Williams both see the program growing as it gains its footing.

“We are starting small but are aiming for perfection,” Williams said. “I’m expecting to see great results this spring which will allow us to gain even more support and expand the program in the fall.”

Williams said she is confident that Mentor Connection will become an esteemed part of a student’s journey at UCA.

“By interacting with alumni already working in their field of study, they are a step above the rest and have a competitive edge when fighting for jobs at graduation,” she said. “I know that alumni will feel fulfilled and students will be better equipped for what is ahead of them.”

For more information about Mentor Connection, contact Alumni Services at 501-852-7463 or alumni@uca.edu.

By Richard Duke
Courtesy of the Log Cabin Democrat

The brains behind the defining festival in Faulkner County as well as a lifelong journalist who was the managing editor of the Log Cabin Democrat, John Ward passed away recently. He was 81. Ward was an enduring presence in Conway and especially at University of Central Arkansas, where Ward's influence is still felt.

“I worked with and for John Ward three different times over 39 years, and while each time was good, the last time, the years 1988-96 at UCA, was the best because so much was done to advance the university,” said friend, colleague and employee Jim Schneider. "When you were on John’s team you’d go hard, but it was fun and good things would happen. It was fun because he had a great sense of humor and no ego. He took a lot of things seriously -- his family, his work, his saxophone, his dogs, his cornbread -- but not himself. The only part of his life that was close to average was its length. I don’t recall spending a moment with him that wasn’t interesting.”

Schneider and Ward were acquainted through Ward’s brother Bill, and their professional paths crossed several times within UCA and the Log Cabin Democrat.

Ward and his brother Bill helped to create Toad Suck Daze, which has grown throughout the years to become a destination for fun-seekers throughout the state. Today, the festival welcomes hundreds of thousands of people a year and has contributed thousands of scholarships for Faulkner County students.

A one-time high school band director, Ward was married, the father of two children, and a full-time reporter at the Arkansas Democrat while finishing his B.A. degree requirements at night at what was then Little Rock University. A native of Damascus, Ward was a few credits short of a music degree from what was Arkansas State Teachers College - now UCA - when he turned to newspaper reporting.

Ward spent his time "making his own assignments, making his own photos" and going where he wanted. At that time, the editor of the Arkansas Democrat would run whatever he wrote.

During central Arkansas's school integration crisis in the late 1950s, Ward and a Democrat photographer were surrounded by angry segregationists at their rally in Pine Bluff but were able to walk away unharmed when the photographer vowed to record the situation.

Longtime friend former Sen. Stanley Russ of Conway said Ward always remained true to his rural roots whether he was "rubbing shoulders with governors or presidents" - Ward photographed President John Kennedy in Heber Springs and attended White House briefings with President Jimmy Carter - referring to Ward as a true "Renaissance Man."

"Whatever he wanted to accomplish, he did," Russ said. "He wasn't confined to one path in life."

Ward was a professional saxophone player who managed to play in his wife's combo as well as other bands late into his life, and he was also known for being part of the Ward Family Singers. Often they met at the "the farm," owned by Ward and located about eight miles east of Bee Branch. The group had taken items from their parent's home and placed them at "the farm."

Ward served 12 years as managing editor of the Log Cabin Democrat in Conway. He also founded the Institute of Politics and Government in Arkansas and served as its chair for several years.

"John walked that tightrope between good journalism and good public relations as well as any person I have ever known in the business," said David McCollum, Log Cabin sports columnist, 30-year veteran of the staff, whom Ward, as managing editor, hired in 1982.

"He was able to do that because of both his keen instincts for news, his wit, his visionary approach to marketing and his love of people and what makes them tick.”

“We became congenial colleagues and discovered we actually liked each other,” recalled Dr. Win Thompson, former UCA President, adding that their first meeting involved a “heated argument over the phone.”
“When I became president of UCA in 1988, I knew his knowledge of Conway would be valuable, and I asked him to join the staff. Over the years, we became very close friends,” Thompson said. “ I will always treasure the meals that a group of us enjoyed periodically with him and Betty at his farm as well as the rump sessions a smaller group of us had regularly at country cafes all over central Arkansas--the casual conversations, the laughter, the serious discussions about politics, religion, everything. He was a very talented person, a wonderful friend, and an incredibly decent human being.”
Ward was a member of the board of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and served as chair for four years. He became director of information services for the University of Arkansas System until 1988 when he was named vice president for public affairs at the University of Central Arkansas.

During his eight years as communications director at UCA, Ward taught journalism and served as president of the UCA Foundation.

Carolyn Ishee, a current member of the UCA Foundation board, said she will miss his wit, wisdom and insight.

“Mr. Ward, as I always referred to him as, even as an adult, was my mentor,” she said. “He taught me the basics of journalism and the benefit of questioning everything as my editor at the ‘old’ Log Cabin Democrat.”

Ishee worked with Ward as alumni director and then development officer, but she is grateful for his vision for the UCA Foundation.

“He elevated the UCA Foundation by increasing the assets of the Foundation from less than $1 million in 1988 to over $6 million when he left UCA in 1996,” she said. “I serve proudly as a member of the John and Betty Ward Scholarship selection committee because I know how much Mr. Ward wanted to help promising journalism students. It is one of the funds I am proud to support. I am honored to serve as a current member of the Foundation board and am pleased that he knew of the appointment before he left us.
He eventually joined the administrative staff of the University of Arkansas System, where he remained until January 2005, when he was named director of marketing and public relations for the Winthrop Rockefeller Center, now Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, on Petit Jean Mountain. He also served as a director of the Oxford American, a literary magazine published at the University of Central Arkansas.

His honors include the American Cancer Society's Special Citation for a series of articles he wrote about laryngectomees, the "Chairman's Award for Outstanding Service" from the Institute of Politics and Government, "Man Of the Year 1981" from the Arkansas Press Association, the "Distinguished Service Award" from the Arkansas Press Association in 1982, and the "Distinguished Service Award" from UALR in 1983.

He was a charter member and former president of the of the Arkansas chapter of Sigma Delta Chi, Society of Professional Journalists.

"There are so many stories about John that I could tell," Russ said. "But they would fill a book."

Lori Kamerling, Fred Petrucelli and David McCollum contributed to this report

Sharon Daves

Sharon Daves grew up in a in a small Arkansas burgh that is literally and figuratively a world away from her current residence. A native of Heber Springs, who graduated from high school in Trumann (population 7,000), Daves currently hangs her hat in New Delhi, India, a city whose population is nearly 3,500 times larger than her hometown.

“It’s a bit of a winding road,” Daves explained of the odyssey that lead her from rural Arkansas to her position as Deputy Director of Global Disease Detection Regional Center in India, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That road winds through University of Central Arkansas, University of Texas and then on to the global stage, making stops in Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Cambodia and Morocco before making its current stop in India.

Daves began attending UCA in 1994 and graduated with a bachelor of science in family consumer science education in 1998. That was followed with a year of UCA grad school and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Texas, and then a dietetic internship.

“Because of my master’s in public health, I had an interest in a training program at CDC and had an opportunity to work with chronic diseases, which I was interested in at the time,” Daves said.

The training program was set on the island of Saipan, the largest island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated territory of the United States, and involved studying teens with type II diabetes, which fit well with her study of nutrition, physical activity and overall chronic disease prevention.

“After that, I was interested in doing international health,” she said.  That interest led to a job in the international influenza program at CDC, responsible for the Middle East portfolio.

“I travelled to Egypt and Afghanistan and Pakistan and Morocco. Because of that position, I became more acquainted with the program  and was offered a job in Egypt and was working in the global disease protection program and worked there a little over 2 and a half years.,” Daves explained. “Then the position in India opened and I took it”

Daves credits her experiences at UCA for opening the door to international travel. During her time as a student, she made friends with several international students, one of whom was from Egypt.

“I never thought I would visit Egypt, let alone live there,” Daves said. “I met my friend’s parents when I was in Cairo, which is priceless. Because UCA built that bond with international students, I had already met an Egyptian. I knew some things about the culture and I’m still friends with that person.”

While Daves was in Egypt she also witnessed history. For the first eight days of the revolution, Daves hid out in her apartment until she and other Americans were evacuated.

“There was no Internet, no phone. I went outside my apartment for 15 minutes for those entire eight days,” she recalled.

The evacuation brought her back to the United States and work at the CDC Headquarters, when the opportunity to go to India presented itself.

Her current project involves creating a global foodborne infection network. The CDC and the World Health Organization are partnering in several countries to help create these networks. While the U.S. has these networks in place, other countries have “so many other public health issues, it is not something that has been looked at in serious way,” Daves explained.

“It’s interesting because it ties into my nutrition interest and making sure that families are eating safe food,” she added.

Other projects she has been involved with include the 2009 flu pandemic, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and also prevention of chronic diseases.

“When you work with infectious diseases, it is never a dull moment,” she said. “There is always something going on.”

Though it is difficult to be away from family, Daves said technology has made overseas living much easier. Skype, voice-over-Internet protocol phone service and social networks keep her in contact with her family.

Even with such a busy life, Daves makes it back to Arkansas several times a year, spending about a week with family and friends.
“I was in Alpha Sigma Alpha, so I stay in contact with my sorority sisters and some of my professors,” she said. “I feel very connected to UCA. It’s a large enough university that you feel like you are getting lots of opportunities, but it’s a small university in regards to getting to know the people in your classes and other people on campus.”

Luke Irvin

The pivotal moment for Luke Irvin came when he first saw Apple CEO Steve Jobs hold up the first iPhone. That’s when he decided a career in technology was what he wanted.

“It was like, ‘That’s it. This is what I want to do,’” said Irvin, a 2011 University of Central Arkansas graduate.

He had dabbled with coding since his childhood, and was able to watch the Internet develop into the presence in our lives that it is today. Through it all, he taught himself how to write apps for the iPhone and has parlayed that into his personal business, Irvin Media, while working as a developer at PrivacyStar.

Today he watches with interest how the role of social media continues to evolve and how it can be used for commerce.

“The Internet is still growing and the Internet is probably the most powerful tool we have, but I think college students still don’t understand social media,” he said. “They see it as a way of connecting with their friends, but the only reason I like it is because I can sell stuff. Period.

“We live in an eyeballs and ears world,” he continued, “so (students) have to understand that they need to start following (buying habits) to understand where people are going and where to go sell stuff.”

In this brave new world, Irvin sees the evolving technology regarding app development as a game-changer that will permeate every aspect of our lives. The apps he has personally developed through Irvin Media include a coloring book app aimed at children, an app for writing a resume and one for finding military bases across the country. Additionally, at PrivacyStar he works with the app that helps Android and iPhone users block unwanted calls and messages as well as provide its users with directory assistance and caller i.d.

“I spend every day communicating with thousands and thousands of people and listening to them to find out what they want and building a product to fit what they need,” he said.

That mentality meshes well with his role as an intrapreneur at PrivacyStar, which is described by the American Heritage Dictionary as "A person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation.”

“I do what I love, which that’s what makes it kind of easy. PrivacyStar is great because it’s working with mobile apps, which is what I love. Mobile (apps) are huge right now. I go into PrivacyStar already having over a year’s experience, so I have something under my belt that I can bring to the table,” Irvin said.

“It’s really just helped them evolve their culture. I’m learning from them as much as they’re learning from me and this way . . . I’m a hands-on guy. I want to get the dirt under my fingernails and actually learn something and that allows me to bring a lot more experience to the table.”

The fact that Irvin has started his own business, in addition to teaching himself how to develop the apps, is an important quality to those in the startup industry.

“That’s what they’re looking for and that’s what they want to hire,” he said. “They want people who have experience doing something because they know that they already love doing this so they’re not going to have any issues with them. They want to keep pushing you to be better and better and better.”

He has also returned to his alma mater for speaking engagements, in addition to speaking at events such as BarCamp in Conway and Jonesboro, emphasizing the importance of loving your work over pursuing a paycheck.

“Legacy is greater than currency,” Irvin said. “Students do not need to leave college thinking that they need to go chase that paycheck, because that’s just going to get away from them doing what they love. If you’re doing what you love and you’re executing on that, the money’s going to come. You have to have patience.”