Dr. Michael Yoder
Dr. Michael Yoder, an associate professor of geography, recently appeared on KTSS in Texarkana/Hope. The show, which aired Aug.6, is a 24-minute show that was taped in four parts. The research topic, titled “Highway Commercial Strips and Evolving Micropolitan Geographies of Arkansas” examines the impact of automobiles and related sprawl on small cities in Arkansas. The research was conducted between late summer 2011 through June 2012, and involved case studies of Magnolia, Hope, Batesville and Blytheville. The field work and public presentations of the results were funded by the Arkansas Humanities Council (AHC) and UCA’s Department of Sponsored Programs. The methodology included interviews of local historians, urban planning officials, and commercial real estate brokers, as well as archival research, primarily news articles and city directories from the 1950s through the 1980s. The segment are available at:
Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx5qynEnhQs
Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMQCcN1zBJ4
Part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM2N1OWrLKE
Part IV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw6ni_MXWl4
Phi Alpha Theta, Mu Chapter, Wins Best Chapter Award for 2012
The University of Central Arkansas’s Mu Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta has received the 2012 Best Chapter Award from Phi Alpha Theta, the American history honor society for undergraduates, graduates, and professors of history. The award is presented to those chapters that excel in promoting the mission of the national honor society at the local level. The Mu Chapter competed in Division IV, which represents universities with a student population between 10,001 and 15,000. Phi Alpha Theta presented the Mu Chapter with a certificate of achievement and a $250 monetary prize to purchase books for the university library.
“This award is a tribute to the dedication of the members and the leadership of our officers,” Dr. Michael Rosenow, co-faculty advisor of the Mu Chapter said. “It is a well-deserved honor for our outstanding students who worked hard during the year to promote an active honor society that fostered a vibrant intellectual community in the history department.”
The Mu chapter offered study skills workshops for general education history classes, hosted movie nights, coordinated a forum on graduate school, and more. Three student members traveled to the Phi Alpha Theta Biennial Conference in Orlando, Florida, in January of 2012 to present their research. Five student members presented papers at the Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference hosted by the Mu Chapter at the University of Central Arkansas in March 2012.
“For several years our honor society has been one of the best little secrets on campus. Having lots of fun, serving our campus, and even once in awhile being history nerds is an achievement worthy of recognition,” Dr. Brent Ruswick, co-faculty advisor, said in response to the national recognition.
The Mu Chapter was organized in 1932 when the campus was known as Arkansas State Teachers College. Student officers for 2011-2012 were Laura Choate, President, Nathan Robbins, Vice President, and Ty Hendricks and Garrett Wright, Secretary.
For more information, please contact Michael Rosenow, (501) 450-5623, mrosenow@uca.edu.