The Willard and Pat Walker Bachelor's in Science Education Scholarship Fund will aid the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in recruiting and retaining students who wish to become science teachers. Students who plan to teach in the life sciences or physical sciences are eligible for the scholarship.

The science education scholarship was established in 2010 with contributions from current and retired faculty and staff within the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The $50,000 gift from the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation Inc. will enable the university to make scholarship awards from this fund in perpetuity.

“The ability to give greater financial support to these students than we can currently offer will go a long way toward helping us achieve our goal of increasing the number of science and mathematics teachers who graduate from UCA,” said Dr. Steve Runge, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “Our K-12 schools in Arkansas need more teachers in these areas and we are going to do everything possible to ensure that our graduation numbers go up and that the science and mathematics teachers that we send out into the schools are of the highest caliber. We greatly appreciate the Walker Foundation for supporting us in our science education efforts.”

The scholarship with be awarded for the first time this fall. Students interested in applying for the scholarship should contact the Office of the Dean in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at (501) 450-3199.

The 200-seat amphitheater will be located between the Student Center and Ida Waldran Auditorium. UCA officials plan to have the project completed by the opening of the fall semester.

The design included an elevated grass area, three brick columns, cast concrete seating and landscaping. Architects have identified deductive alternatives if bids are over budget, said UCA President Tom Courtway. Items removed from the project can be added when funding is available.

Initial cost for the project is estimated at $268,000.The board allocated $112,500 from the Board of Trustees Fund for the project. Trustee Rush Harding donated $112,500 and additional funds were given by the SGA and the Department of Housing.

The Student Government Association is pleased with the current design, said Austin Hall, SGA president.

"I hope we can find a way to keep the plan," he said.

The amphitheater project is a part of “Think Big! Project,” a Student Government Association initiative that allows students, faculty and staff to submit proposals that would benefit the UCA community.

The administration will come back to the board for approval of the bid, Courtway said.

"This is a significant project right in the middle of the campus," he said.

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS

COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS AND COMMUNICATION

February 6, 2012

CONTACT: Mark Spitzer (501) 450-3339; toadsuckreview@gmail.com

By Taylor Gladwin

UCA Department of Writing

CONWAY ― The University of Central Arkansas’s literary journal, the Toad Suck Review, has just published its highly anticipated second issue, which is packed with American literary icons such as Charles Bukowski, Amiri Baraka, Anne Waldman and Shepard Fairey.

This issue also includes many emerging and established writers. Copies may be purchased through Amazon.com, Spdbooks.org, or at the upcoming Launchapalooza on the UCA campus, Friday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. in the Lewis Science Center room 102. T-shirts will also be on sale as well as books by contributors and editors.

Readers at the Launchapalooza, which will be the final event in UCA’s ArkaText literary festival Feb. 20-24, will include poet Terry Wright, whose latest chapbook, Fractal Cut-Ups, is due to come out this year; Fayetteville author Thomas Cochran, author of the novels Roughnecks and Running the Dogs;  speech-path maestro Gary McCullough, whose work has appeared in CAIRN: The St. Andrews Review, The Nocturnal Lyric, and Papa; Little Rock native Frank Thurmond, who teaches literature at UALR, and Tim (T-Bone) Thornes, reading for the late Roy Trask, whose posthumous book Surreal Killer is celebrated as a postmodern masterpiece.

“We don’t have the bling like we did last year for a fancy fete at Michelangelo’s, but we are prepared to burn bright amidst the Bunson burners of Lewis Science Center, where we will wow the Toad Suck World, then continue on to the Bears Den for a gala reception in honor of our star-spangled local debut,” Editor-in-Chief Mark Spitzer said.

Wright, a UCA professor of writing, added: “The Toad Suck Review is a golden ticket that gets one beyond candied wonkification. It's a bullet train that buzzes by the usual moral morasses and pulls up instead to your final destination: cultural evolution. A TSR live event is the meteor the dinosaurs of mainstream art and literature see before settling in for a well-deserved, multi-millennial hibernation in oozy bogs until one finally apprehends what these reptiles have become: polluting contaminants.”

The annual Toad Suck Review is published by the Department of Writing in the College of Fine Arts and Communication and is thrilled to be back as a powerhouse of cutting-edge poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. This issue includes a new section on eco-writing and a focus on literary translation as well as a spotlight on Arkansas writers.

The reception following the Launchapalooza will take place at 10 p.m. at Bears Den Pizza, 235 Farris Road in Conway. Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit toadsuckreview.org or contact Spitzer at (501) 450-3339 or toadsuckreview@gmail.com.

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The "Chinese Spring Festival Gala" features a dazzling variety of traditional Chinese performance arts, including Chinese folk musical instruments, Peking opera, Martial Arts, Acrobatics and Chinese dance.

The event is free to the public. It is sponsored by UCA Confucius Institute for Arkansas, Hanban, University of International Business and Economics.

"We want the UCA community to have the opportunity to learn more about Chinese culture," said JingJing Li, deputy director of the Confucius Institute.

The group is performing at five Confucius Institutes in the United States.

The troupe's members are Elite Students with varying majors including economics and finance, along with traditional performance majors, Li said. There are 17 students in the art group and seven teachers in the delegation of the UIBE delegation group.

For more information, visit Confucius Institute or contact Ms. Jingjing Li at jli@uca.edu or (501) 852-5219.

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS

COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS AND COMMUNICATION

February 3, 2012

CONTACT: Dr. Blake Tyson, 501.450.5263; btyson@uca.edu

By Gavin D. Glenn

College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office

CONWAY — The University of Central Arkansas Percussion Ensemble will perform its first concert of the spring semester on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at the Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall.

The concert, is free and open to the public, is set for 7:30 p.m.

“This concert is filled with music that is fun to play and a lot of fun to listen to,” said Dr. Blake Tyson, director. “With the incredible variety of percussion instruments on stage, it's also a lot of fun to watch.

“The concert will be made up largely of music that explores our heritage as percussionists.”

Pieces played will include five virtuoso works for solo xylophone and marimba band by Ragtime master George Hamilton Green; “Away Without Leave” by Bob Becker, which features styles ranging from rudimental drumming to rock and funk; “Second Construction” by John Cage, which highlights the diversity of the ensemble, utilizing instruments such as tuned gongs, Indian rattles, and a thundersheet; and “Bonham” by Christopher Rouse, a tribute to John Bonham, the late drummer for Led Zeppelin.

Tyson said he hoped to see a packed house because having a large audience always increases the intensity of any performance.

“I am very proud of the students that make up the UCA Percussion Ensemble,” he said. “Their incredible technique and brilliant musicianship make working with them both an honor and a pleasure.”

For more information, contact Tyson at (501) 450-5263 or  btyson@uca.edu.

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