Community Events

UCA Students Provide Tutoring Services

Students from the Department of Elementary, Literacy & Special Education pursuing dual certification in P-4 Early Childhood Education and Special Education are engaged in providing literacy tutoring to children in Bigelow, AR.

The students tutor on Mondays and Wednesdays, providing one on one instruction complete with lesson plans and activities to enhance literacy.

They have provided over 80 hours of tutoring over 2 semesters and have increased literacy scores as assessed by the UCA students and the Bigelow faculty.

UCA Faculty Members Performed Public Reading At Oxford American Annex

Faculty members in creative writing from the University of Central Arkansas gave a public reading at the Oxford American Annex in Little Rock on Tuesday, November 11, 2014.

Terry Wright, John Vanderslice, Sean Ironman, and Stacy Kidd read from their work and covered a variety of genres, including fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

Vanderslice debuted a recently published collection of short stories titled Island Fog, which consists of both contemporary and historical fiction. “I started writing a series of stories set in present-day Nantucket, and then I delved into the past on the second cycle of stories,” Vanderslice said. “Those stories range from 1795 to the 1920s.”

Wright, dean of the UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication and professor of creative writing, organized the event and shared selections from several of his poetry collections. “It’s an exciting place to read,” he said. “The Oxford American is the South’s premier literary journal. It will be a fun event.”

The Oxford American is a literary magazine that started in Oxford, Miss., before moving to Little Rock. John Grisham was one of the founding members. UCA began partnering with the OA several years ago.

For more information, contact the Office of the Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication, at (501) 450-3293 or jdmiller@uca.edu. The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Communication, Mass Communication and Theatre, Music and Writing. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call (501) 450-3293.

Grand Opening of HPER Center Announced

The Board of Trustees and President Courtway invite you to the grand opening of the HPER Center on Monday, November 24, at 1:30 p.m. The event will take place on the HPER basketball courts.

There will be give-aways commemorating the opening and refreshments will be served.

UCA Students And Faculty Present At International Leadership Conference

Students and faculty of the Interdisciplinary PhD in Leadership Studies program (LEAD) at the University of Central Arkansas have recently traveled to San Diego, California, to present research at this year’s annual conference of the International Leadership Association. The International Leadership Association promotes a deeper understanding of leadership knowledge and practices for the greater good of individuals and communities worldwide. ILA’s conference theme this year was Conscious Leading for Global Change: Emergence of our Collective Realities.

The LEAD program director, Rhonda McClellan is pleased that 18 students and two faculty presented original research at this year’s conference. “ILA is an international organization that publishes top-tier journals in leadership and hosts a variety of conferences and meetings for scholars in the field to share their research. Our presentations and attendance at this conference highlights the quality of UCA’s PhD program. Out of all proposals sent to ILA, we learned that only 30% were accepted, ours being among that percentage.” Further, LEAD students and faculty had an opportunity to meet scholars whose work they encounter in the classroom and use in their own research. Many of the papers presented at this year’s conference resulted from the various community field-based projects for which the program is becoming well-known and from students’ dissertations. Presentations included a study of economics of educating women in Arkansas, literacy action in higher education, leadership development and community engagement, and several other topics that focus on improving quality of life markers in Arkansas.

LEAD student, Emily Lane, was excited for the opportunity to present at an international conference and proud to represent UCA and the LEAD program. “The work we do in this program is indispensable, and we are always happy to present our work and spread the word about the mission of our program to any listening audience. This year’s conference was an eye-opening experience for everyone involved and provided us with priceless opportunities to network with other scholars and leaders, and it also gave us more impetus to continue the work of enhancing human and community capabilities.”

The LEAD program is now accepting applications for its incoming 2016 cohort. For more information on the conference and the presentations by LEAD students and faculty and for general information about the program, visit www.ila-net.org.

For more information, contact the director of the LEAD Program Rhonda McClellan at phdleadership@uca.edu or (501) 852-0912.

Charity Drive For Homeless Veterans In Central Arkansas

College Square Retirement Community is spearheading an initiative to help the homeless veterans in Central Arkansas. Join them as they raise supplies and homeless awareness for St. Francis Ministries in Little Rock. This shelter specifically houses homeless veterans. They stay here temporarily, until the VA places them in permanent housing months later.

Starting now until Veteran’s Day, you can help us by donating goods that they can use:

•   Coats, pants, and outerwear (new or gently used)
•   Toiletries, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, deodorant, toilet paper, etc
•   New packages of socks and underwear
•   Warm clothing items such as hats, gloves, and scarves
•   Household items for their next housing location. For example: pots, pans, dishes, silverware, bedding, towels, etc.

College Square Retirement Community, located at 2421 College Ave in Conway (big white building at the Northwest corner of UCA’s campus), will be the drop off point. If you have something you would like to donate to this valiant cause, please stop by and look for the collection box in the foyer!

The goal is to deliver a BUS FULL of items to help these veterans.

Donate and help spread the word! These men and women fought for our freedom and our wonderful country, and now is the time we show them our gratitude.

If you have any questions, contact Kevin Stowe @ College Square Retirement Community. 501-327-6227 or kstowe@uca.edu

“The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s most recent “point in time” count of homeless veterans found roughly 50,000 on the night in January that it conducted its spot survey. Based on previous full- year estimates, we can safely conclude that there are probably are more than 100,000 homeless veterans across America. Of these, an estimated 10,000 of them are female.”
– Darlene Curley and William T. Bester of the Los Angeles Times

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