The Bear Ledger

Jimmy Bryant, director of archives and special collections, will be an on air guest on The Michael Smerconish Program on Friday, May 24 at 10:05 a.m. central time.

He was invited to discuss cursive writing and the article that appeared in the New York Times about cursive writing and why it still should be taught.

The Michael Smerconish Program is heard exclusively on SiriusXM – POTUS Channel 124 from 9a–12p ET – re–airing again 6-9p ET. Satellite radio has more than 24 million subscribers and even twice as many listeners. Smerconish is also an MSNBC contributor and a weekly Sunday columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Dr. Roger Pauly, associate professor, Department of History, has written historical features about the Arkansas Department of Health. The series of historical pieces have been airing on National Public Radio.

The radio spots can be found at the attached link: http://www.ualrpublicradio.org/topic/arkansas-health-department-features

Has someone you work with done something outstanding this quarter (April – June)?

Employee of the Quarter is given to a staff member who has done something exceptional during a specific time period. UCA has many outstanding staff members that deserve recognition. This award was developed to recognize a specific “Above and Beyond” action that happened during the current quarter.

Nominations are being accepted for the Employee of the Quarter (IV) Award. One full-time staff member will be recognized each quarter for outstanding job performance, going above and beyond, during that quarter. Any staff member with at least one year of service as of April 1, 2013 is eligible to be nominated. Any faculty, staff, student, or alumni can submit a nomination. Staff Senate sponsors this award and its aim is to recognize staff for their contributions to UCA.

This nomination form must be submitted by June 30th, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. https://uca.edu/staffsenate/employee-of-the-quarter/

Nominate someone today that deserves recognition. The winner will receive some great prizes including $150 BearBucks, two tickets to UCA’s next Night of Distinction, and a reserved parking spot for the following quarter.

For more information on the process, please contact Mark Heffington at markh@uca.edu.

Pictured from left to right are: NHMI Athletic Training Resident Theresa Chester, NHMI Executive Director Laura Decoster, Steve Tucker and University of New Hampshire associate professor Dr. Erik Swartz

Steve Tucker, PhD, ATC, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, collaborated on a research project with personnel from the University of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Musculoskeletal Institute (NHMI). Data collection for the project, entitled “Comparison of Head Acceleration, Time and Perceived Exertion during Football Helmet Removal with and without Facemask Removal,” took place at the NHMI. The purpose of the study was to identify the safest and quickest method of removing a football helmet during a simulated cervical spine injury scenario. In the event of a catastrophic injury, quick access to the head and airway is crucial in order to administer lifesaving treatment, while limiting motion to the cervical spine minimizes the potential threat of further neurological damage to the patient.

Twenty-eight Little Rock Christian High School students visited the UCA campus on April 19. They were introduced to the profession of athletic training. The students were separated into three small groups that were then escorted to three different locations within the Farris Center.

Adam Bruenger, PhD, assistance professor, demonstrated the use of the pressure plate and how it is utilized in research. The students were able to perform tasks on the plate and then were shown the different data that can be seen on the computer.

Stephen Hornor, assistant athletic trainer/clinical I instructor, demonstrated the use of a vibration modality for treatment and care of athletic injuries. The students were able to all experience how the machine can increase their flexibility in a very short period of time.

Ellen Epping, ATEP program pirector and senior ATEP students, Emily Lacey and Taylor Mickelson showed a video that featured Emily in what it is like to be an ATEP athletic training student at UCA. The senior ATEP students discussed their experience in the program and fielded general questions about the profession of athletic training.

LRCHS teacher, Paula Pugh who escorted the students to UCA for this experience said this about their visit; “They all enjoyed learning about the “day in the life of an athletic trainer”, learning about research opportunities and the application to sport, and who can forget the vibrating machine! You have a wonderful staff, and the senior students were great! I hope we can do it again next school year.”

These are just a few instances of UCA students, faculty, or staff in recent news:

UCA Greeks round out year with community service
http://thecabin.net/latest-news/2013-05-18/uca-greeks-round-out-year-community-service

UCA music students to attend Drum Corps International
http://conway.todaysthv.com/news/people/185263-uca-music-students-attend-drum-corps-international

New, exciting changes to Little Rock Film Festival
http://littlerock.todaysthv.com/news/news/183793-new-exciting-changes-little-rock-film-festival

A Cultural Tradition Worth Preserving by Jimmy Bryant, director of archives and special collections.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/04/30/should-schools-require-children-to-learn-cursive/cursive-handwriting-is-a-cultural-tradition-worth-preserving

Athletic training student, Weston Vickers, was the KPED Representative for the Outstanding University Student in the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, and he was the recipient of the Fletcher B. Lowry Award (annual award for outstanding student in the department). Weston has accepted a graduate assistant position at Nicholls State University where he will provide medical service to NSU athletes while pursuing a degree in Higher Education in Administration.

The buzz of the chainsaw is gone, but the buzz on campus remains. The life-sized bear outside of Wingo Hall is now complete. Iowa sculptor Gary Keenan completed the carving outside Wingo Hall in four days.

Curious bystanders watched as Keenan climbed up and down scaffolding, using at least three different chainsaws to create the black bear. Art classes from the Conway School District visited Keenan, along with faculty and staff.

All four Little Rock television stations, KARN radio, the Log Cabin Democrat, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Echo, and other media reported on Keenan’s progress as the worked to transform the stump.

If you missed any of his work, use UCA’s social media networks to catch up. See a variety of photos on Flickr and two videos on YouTube:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ucentralarkansas

http://www.youtube.com/ucentralarkansas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA2F-F8Yv00

Callie France

The UCA Greek community ended the year with an increased amount of volunteer time and money donated to local schools and nonprofits.Greeks donated a total of 13,654 volunteer hours and $29,946.44 in monetary donations to 179 different organizations during the 2012-2013 academic year.

The hours and money donated this year is significant because the UCA Fraternity/Sorority community continues to show they care about the greater good, said Lindsey Osborne, director of sorority life. “While social development has value, contributions the fraternity and sorority members make to the community demonstrate how much they care about helping others.”

UCA had 21 total sororities and fraternities for both the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 academic years. These organizations increased their contributions over the last year raising $21,923.22 and donating 11,374 community service hours in 2011-2012.

Greeks donated time and money to more than 150 different events and organizations with some racking up extreme levels of donations.

Last Chance Arkansas received no money from Greeks, but the organization did receive nearly 1800 hours in volunteer service. Last Chance is a non-profit animal rescue organization. Greek organizations provided temporary shelter for pets throughout the year before the animals were adopted. Osborne said th students keep these dogs anywhere from a day or two up to several weeks until they are adopted by families in the East or Northeast regions of the United States where the spay and neuter laws are much more stringent.

“We provide love and care such as holding them, playing with them, walking them, grooming, bathing, feeding, etc. The work occurs anytime and almost all the time. I have had seven or eight puppies I’ve fostered just in 2013. I began recruiting my sorority sisters and their boyfriends to foster dogs,” said Callie France, executive board member of Alpha Sigma Tau. “More than 800 dogs are put to sleep every year, and this helps to save innocent lives and better our community. I have loved being a part of this, and it’s heartwarming to help these animals who are in need of a human’s love & affection.”

In addition to Alpha Sigma Tau, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Kappa Sigma, Pi Kappa Alpha, and Sigma Kappa all provided shelter for pets at Last Chance Arkansas.

“Service is one of the principles Greek letter organizations were founded on. Service agencies have long depended on the dedication and generous time contributed to the community by UCA Greeks. They continually reach out to the fraternity/sorority community when support is needed and Greek organizations consistently fulfill those needs,” Osborne said.

Heather E. Hinesley from Conway and Jared M. Cronk from Cabot, both Sophomore Music Education majors from UCA, have been chosen to participate in Drum Corps International (DCI) for the summer of 2013.

Musicians chosen for the annual tour spend several weeks in May living and rehearsing in Indianapolis, Indiana before beginning a summer tour schedule with their individual corps assignments. The musicians visit and perform in several states throughout the summer, living either on the tour bus or in school gymnasiums. This tour begins the end of May and wraps up August 11, following the National DCI Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. at the Lucas Oil Stadium on August 10. To participate requires skill, a passion for the activity, and a big time commitment. Each participant signs a contract that they will honor this commitment.

Both Hinesley and Cronk auditioned and were then chosen to participate in the Corp Color Guard.

Hinesley will be marching with “The Troopers” based in Laramie, Wy. “The Troopers” are the only competitive junior drum and bugle corps in the state of Wyoming. The corps, founded in 1957 by Casper businessman James E. Jones, represents the state of Wyoming in numerous performances and events during the year. The group has won eleven national titles and has made DCI World Championship finals nine times. The Division I corps is known for their long and storied history, and is often called “America’s Corps”.

Cronk will be marching with “Carolina Crown” based in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The Carolina Drum Corps Association was founded in 1988 with the desire of its founders to bring a drum corps to the Carolinas. “Carolina Crown” was founded the following year by that association. The corps won the Drum Corps International Division II World Championship in 1993, and now competes as a Division I unit.

Hinesley and Cronk are members of the UCA BMB Marching Band Color Guard, and music education majors.

From modest beginnings more than three decades ago, Drum Corps International (DCI) has developed into a powerful, nonprofit, global youth activity with far-reaching artistic, educational and organizational influence. Through the annual DCI Tour and more than 35 World Championships in 17 North American cities, Drum Corps International provides entertainment to millions through live performances and nationally-televised events. Drum Corps International is Marching Music’s Major League™.

Read more: http://www.dci.org/about/#ixzz2TBfmZqOx