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UCA Alumna Alisha Farris Appears On Good Morning America To Discuss Michelle Obama’s School Lunch Program

2003 and 2004 UCA graduate Alisha Farris made an appearance on Good Morning America as the lead researcher of a dietician team that researched the nutritional value of school lunches versus brown bag lunches. She discussed how lunches packed from home are generally not as nutritious as lunches served at school. Farris is currently attending Virginia Tech University where she is pursuing her Ph.D.

To take a look at the episode, visit: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/cafeteria-lunches-healthier-meals-brought-home-26804452

UCA Retail Management Class Participated In Marketing Field Trip To St. Louis

donb UCA professor Dr. Don Bradley’s retail management class took a field trip to St. Louis, Missouri to expand their marketing horizons. “The idea of the trip was to look at sports marketing and high end retailing,” stated Dr. Bradley, “In Arkansas, we don’t have an NFL team or a major league baseball team, or a high end store like Sak’s Fifth Avenue. We tried to show the students that end of merchandising.”

The first stop on the field trip was the St. Louis Zoo. “We were looking at their idea of branding, as far as marketing is concerned,” said Dr. Bradley, “They don’t charge for admission. They had to have a little different marketing approach than what most non-profit organizations usually have because they make their money off of the merchandise and food.”

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Their next stop was to visit with the St. Louis Rams of the NFL.They talked about the marketing behind premium seating, sponsors, and the selling of merchandise.

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From there, the group traveled to visit with the St. Louis Cardinals, where they discussed the Cardinal Care area and ticket sales.

Cardinal Care involves sending the Cardinals players out to various groups to help them raise money and create goodwill for the team.

“We actually have some of our students who went on this trip who are now working with the Cardinals,” said Dr. Bradley.

The students also got a chance to go up into the St. Louis Arch and down into Laclede’s Landing, which is an old part of St. Louis, where the students were able to look at the marketing in that area and how they work together with the football stadium to market and sell merchandise. The next morning, the students went to spend the morning at Sak’s Fifth Avenue to look at high end retailing. From there, they went to the St. Louis Galleria to speak with the general manager of Macy’s. This also opened up some career opportunities for the students.

Twenty seven students went on the field trip and a number of them have been offered jobs as a result, since each student was able to leave a resume. “We started doing this thirty years ago,” said Dr. Bradley. “There are just certain things you can’t teach in the classroom.”

UCA Professor Awarded 2014 College Teacher of the Year

UCA professor Dr. Michael Mills was recently named 2014 College Teacher of the Year by the Arkansas Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts (ACTELA). Dr. Mills received this award at the annual Arkansas Curriculum Conference held November 6-7, 2014 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Nominees for the award must show evidence of outstanding teaching, professionalism, and service in English/Language Arts (emphasis on recent achievements), must currently be employed as a full-time teacher, must have at least five years of service teaching in Arkansas schools, and must be available to accept the award at the Fall luncheon. Nominees are judged on their teaching (innovations, successes, honors), professionalism (research study, publication, membership and participation in professional organizations, honors), and service (school, community, state, nation). Award winners received a plaque and gift.

Dr. Mills currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning (College of Education). He holds a BA in English Language and Literature/Letters, a MEd in English/Language Arts Teacher Education, and an EdD in Educational Leadership and Administration. Dr. Mills has been at UCA since 2011 and has had numerous publications and accolades related to his expertise in instructional technology, curriculum and assessment, and classroom management.

College of Education MAT Program Receives Second Program Award

Untitled The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) was recently awarded the Innovation in Teacher Education Award at the annual Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Educators (SRATE) Conference held in Charleston, South Carolina. The Innovation in Teacher Education Award recognizes/honors outstanding teacher education programs that have developed innovative approaches to teacher preparation. Programs that want to be considered for this award must complete an application along with a description of the program and its ability to have a positive impact on teacher education. A program from each participating state is then selected by the SRATE Awards Committee to receive the honor.

Established in 2006 with 77 teacher candidates, the MAT program has grown to approximately 450 teacher candidates and is currently one of the largest graduate program on the UCA campus. Currently, 424 teacher candidates have graduated from the MAT program. This program gives students with a baccalaureate degree the opportunity to become certified Arkansas classroom teachers. The MAT is a 36 to 39 hour graduate degree program that offers two tracks for licensure: Middle Level (grades 4-8) and Secondary (grades 7-12). Students accepted into the program are also given the opportunity to secure a Provisional License which would allow them to teach in their own classrooms while completing the program. For more information about the MAT program please check out our website at www.uca.edu/mat.

Dr. Terry James, SRATE Interim Executive Secretary and Chair of the Leadership Studies Department at UCA, presented the distinguished award to a group of MAT faculty who presented on the innovative program at the SRATE conference in Charleston, South Carolina. Those faculty members included Dr. Nancy Gallavan, professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning; Dr. Tammy Benson, Chairperson of the Department of Teaching and Learning, Ms. Chris Hogan, Clinical Instructor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, and Ms. Amy Thompson, MAT Program Coordinator in the Department of Teaching and Learning. The award was brought back to UCA College of Education to share with the many faculty and staff that work collaboratively and effectively to keep this program successful.

Produce For Better Health Grant Awarded to UCA Dietetic Internship

A $3200 grant has been secured by Dr. Nina Roofe, Assistant Professor and Dietetic Internship Director in the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences at the University of Central Arkansas from the Produce for Better Health Foundation.

Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) consumer education foundation whose mission is to motivate Americans to eat more fruit and vegetables to improve public health. PBH partners with government agencies like CDC, non-profit organizations, health professionals, educators, and members of the fruit and vegetable industry to promote increased consumption of fruit and vegetables. Produce for Better Health Foundation brings together private industry and public sector resources, policy makers, and key consumer influencers to promote fruit and vegetables directly to consumers.

This grant entails collaboration between Harp’s Grocery in Conway and the UCA Dietetic Internship, training materials for delivery of grocery store tours, and service learning opportunities for UCA undergraduate and graduate nutrition majors during the 2015 spring semester.

For more information, please contact Dr. Nina Roofe at nroofe@uca.edu or (501) 450-5950.

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