The Bear Ledger

Brief History of the UCA Police Department: Part One of a Two-Part Series

The University of Central Arkansas Police Department, (UCAPD), is a professional law enforcement organization that utilizes professionally-trained officers and the most up-to-date technology to fight crime and protect the students, faculty, staff and visitors at the University of Central Arkansas. While the UCAPD is impressive in its organization, training and its ability to fulfill its mission, it came from a very modest and humble beginning.

The first providers of security at UCA were not professional police officers, but “night watchmen.” The position of night watchman began in the late 1920s and the first person in this capacity that can be identified was H.V. Summers. Mr. Summers was paid $90.00 per month in 1929 to patrol the campus after dark, according to the 1929 budget.

The Great Depression soon hit after the 1929 budget was approved and UCA suffered financially as did the rest of the state and nation. The UCA faculty and staff saw their salaries cut by 10% on two separate occasions and then they suffered another reduction in pay in 1935. They were also paid in warrants instead of cash which also reduced their income. As a staff member, the night watchman also received cuts in pay. In addition to the general reduction in pay, the night watchman’s pay was reduced far more than most staff members.

At the beginning of the Great Depression the night watchman position was funded at $90.00 per month. However, as the Great Depression worsened, the night watchman’s salary was gradually reduced each year until it hit its lowest point of $33 per month in 1939. Apparently, the night watchman was deemed necessary by UCA administrators because the position was funded throughout the Great Depression.

The night watchman was not armed as law enforcement officers are today. He did not have a firearm, pepper spray, or radio, just a flashlight and in one case the night watchman carried a small baton or black jack slapper. At some point the night watchmen were issued uniforms, however, they were not standard police issue uniforms. One of the earliest uniforms issued to a UCA night watchman was a band uniform that came from the UCA Department of Music.

In 1954 Floyd Mills, who had already been teaching in Arkansas’s public schools, returned to UCA to complete his degree in education. To supplement his income while taking classes he worked as a night watchman on campus from 1954 to 1956. He was issued a uniform from the UCA Department of Music that was dyed navy blue. The navy blue coat had two rows of brass buttons on its front and according to his son, Russell Mills, a Conway businessman, it looked a great deal like the uniforms worn by members of the New York City Police Department.

Mr. Mills patrolled the UCA campus during the evening and when he caught students, or any other individuals engaged in wrong-doing, he apprehended them and locked them in Torreyson Library (that building is now known as Harrin Hall). Those who were detained in Torreyson Library were kept under lock and key until an officer from the Conway Police Department arrived to take them into custody. Before Mr. Mills ended his employment at UCA in 1956, his title changed from night watchman to “night supervisor of students.”

The title of night supervisor of students soon gave way to another title, “security officer.” The first person to hold this title was Hoye Henry, who began his duties as security officer at UCA in 1958. During the 1960-1961 academic year, the UCA budget showed that Officer Henry was paid $3,600 per year plus a house and utilities.

During the decade of the 1960s there was unrest on many college campuses in the form of student-led demonstrations and in some cases, riots. UCA, however, did not experience massive student demonstrations and certainly no riots. But, it is believed that the events at other colleges did influence the UCA administration in regard to matters of security.

“Campus Security” was the rather generic name that was given to the department for which the security officers worked. According to the 1971-1972 State College of Arkansas (UCA’s name at the time) Campus Bulletin, “Campus Security Officers are on duty twenty-four hours a day. This security coverage is for the protection of students, faculty, staff and College and private property.”

James Ed Smith, who began his career at UCA in 1967 and retired from the UCAPD after 32 years of service, said some of his early responsibilities included responding to altercations between students, breaking up panty raids, checking buildings at night and also issuing tickets. He also said that in 1967 Campus Security did not have its own office but shared an office with UCA’s physical plant superintendent, Noble Wimberly.

Smith said that Campus Security officers also responded to blue light calls in front of women’s residence halls. Women students had no key to open the main doors of their residence halls, and after a certain time in the evening the doors were locked. If a female student returned to her residence hall after the doors were locked, she had to turn on a blue light in front of the building which would then signal a passing Campus Security officer to stop and let the female student into her residence hall. Smith said the officers passed by the female residence halls every 10 to 15 minutes. There was no blue light system for the men’s residence halls.

UCA began the decade with one security officer, but by 1969 there were nine security officers in uniform and by 1975 there were 13 security officers on duty. Another part of the reason for the rapid growth in security personnel can almost certainly be attributed to the steady annual growth of UCA’s enrollment. In 1960, UCA’s enrollment was 1,681 but by 1975, UCA’s enrollment had grown to 4,759 students.

Campus Security received a new name by the end of the 1970s and was called “Department of Public Safety.” According to the 1992-1994 UCA Bulletin, “Public Safety officers are on duty twenty-four hours a day for the protection of students, faculty, staff, and University and private property.” As you’ve undoubtedly noticed, the wording of the purpose of the Department of Public Safety is virtually identical to the wording of the purpose of Campus Security that was written in 1971.

In July 1972, after one year on the job as a UCA security officer, Billy Leach, who had recently retired from the U.S. Air Force and had 16 years of Air Force Security Police experience, was made Chief of Campus Security. The first area Chief Leach wanted to improve upon was in public relations and how the security officers could better interact with the students.

In a recent interview with this author, Chief Leach stated, “In observing the relationship between the students and myself, it wasn’t what I wanted between our officers and the students. I wanted the officers to work with the students and not throw the book at them and be somewhat friendly and hospitable.”

Chief Leach was very concerned that his officers had not been properly trained. Soon after taking the job as Chief he began taking steps to alleviate this problem and properly train his officers. In addition to the on campus training Leach provided, he also sent his officers to the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy at East Camden, Arkansas. According to Arkansas law all law enforcement officers had to be certified to make an arrest and this certification was acquired by proper training and passing the required tests.

According to Chief Leach, “UCA officers had the legal authority to make an arrest anywhere in the State of Arkansas. However, UCA officials preferred that UCA officers limit their authority to the UCA campus.”

After Bob Blankenship was elected Faulkner County Sheriff, Chief Leach invited Sheriff Blankenship to UCA to conduct advanced training classes for UCA officers. According to Leach, all colleges and universities in Arkansas sent their police officers to UCA to attend the training provided by Sheriff Blankenship and other instructors.

The training that was provided to the police officers at UCA included weapons instruction, firing range and classroom instruction on various topics. One particular training session lasted two weeks, with officers attending classes all day.

To assist with the police training at UCA several city police departments participated by sending experienced officers to serve as instructors. Some of the cities, agencies and individuals that furnished instructors to Chief Leach were Conway, North Little Rock, Little Rock, University of Arkansas Police Department, the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney, District Court Judge Jack Roberts and Circuit Court Judge David Reynolds.

Before the issuance of firearms in 1981, UCA security officers had no issued weapons whatsoever. They had a uniform, badge, handcuffs, a whistle and in 1977 they were issued mobile radios. The lack of weaponry greatly hampered the officers2’ ability to do their jobs.

In 1981, a milestone was reached when Department of Public Safety officers were issued firearms. Chief Leach saw the need for weapons and requested that the administration provide firearms for his officers. The decision to issue firearms was done with some regret, according to UCA President Jeff Farris, who was quoted in The Echo as saying, “The obligation of the Public Safety Department on campus is to protect students. With non-student traffic we’ve had and the size the university has reached, it seems that is the only way we can fulfill that obligation.” By 1981 UCA’s enrollment was slightly above 6,000 students.

Chief Leach requested that the officers be given firearms due to situations that arose where the officers and/or students felt they were in danger. According to Chief Leach, “All officers had to receive special training before they could ever be armed by the University. Jim Elliott of the Arkansas State Police was the chief instructor in getting the officers qualified so they could be authorized to carry side arms. Even though I had 16 years experience in Air Force Security Police I also underwent handgun training under Elliott.” The handguns that were issued to the officers were Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolvers.

Once the officers received their newly issued handguns, they were somewhat more confident in doing their jobs, according to Chief Leach. Training on firearms continued and was ongoing. Chief Leach had his officers attend the firing range no less than once every six months.

The UCA Board of Trustees purchased 14 handguns in June 1981 and also issued a set of rules to be followed governing the use of firearms. Officers of the Department of Public Safety began carrying firearms on August 21, 1981.

Chief Leach retired from the UCA Department of Public Safety in 1992, after 21 years of service. According to the September 9, 1992 Echo, “Leach said things are very different now when compared to 1971, the year he began his career in UCA Public Safety. We had one desk, one filing cabinet, and three chairs. When the chairs were filled, it was a full-house. The two cars we had did not even look like police cars. They had a small blue light mounted behind the grill.”

“Students had to flag officers down because there was no radio communication…Leach said his greatest accomplishment was getting the officers armed during the summer of 1981. During that time, marijuana was popular and officers were conducting busts and arrests bare-handed. It took me a long time to convince the administration to agree that officers needed arms and professional training. When the officers were first armed, Leach said students told him, now, we feel like you can protect us.”

Author’s Note: Part Two will be published next Monday in this paper. Sources for this article include The Echo, The Scroll, ASTC, SCA and UCA Bulletins, UCA Archives – M99-01 – Official Records of UCA collection, UCA Institutional Research, Russell Mills, James Ed Smith, Billy Leach, Minutes of the UCA Board of Trustees, “A History of Arkansas State Teachers College” by Ted Worley and “The Centennial History of the University of Central Arkansas” by Jimmy Bryant, UCA Archivist.   – Jimmy Bryant, director of the UCA Archives.

UCA President Tom Courtway kicked off the first “Campus Talk” of the new year  by outlining challenges for the university and informing  the campus community of his expectations.

Courtway noted the appointment of UCA alums Elizabeth Farris and Brad Lacy to the UCA Board of Trustees. Farris, the daughter of the late UCA President Jeff Farris, and Lacy, the CEO of Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, were appointed by Gov. Mike Beebe on Jan. 13.

“I can assure you that both of these individuals that the governor has appointed care deeply about UCA and will do a magnificent job on our board,” he said.

Before taking questions from the floor, Courtway made the following remarks to students, faculty and staff:

Where have we been? We have been in a place where we had to borrow money to make our payroll. We have been in a place where we had to have a line of credit. We have been in a place where we had to get an advance or an allowance from our parent.

We have been in a place where many of you, and sometimes me, and sometimes all of us didn’t know what was going on. We have been in a place where we have been on an enrollment and sometimes an emotional rollercoaster ride. And we have been in a place where we had no clear direction as an institution. I don’t want to go back to that place again.

So, what are some of our challenges as we go forward?

We have to develop a clear, understandable enrollment strategy for this institution, and that’s going to start next week. We can grow our enrollment at a pace and at a level that will ensure we are the best university in the state; not necessarily in numbers, but in quality of instruction and most importantly in retention and graduation of our students.

We need to provide a comprehensive monitoring report to the Higher Learning Commission with the help of Dean Hattlestad, Dean Lee, Dr. Glenn, Dr. Wilson, Dr. Teague, Dianna Winters and others on that committee, and then regain our accreditation through 2020. That’s a challenge. We can do it.

We need to develop a prudent budget for the next fiscal year and continue to be careful with how we spend our money. We must manage our finances carefully, build our reserves, and secure the financial future for this university.

Never again do I want to have to go with a tin cup and borrow money or get an advance or grovel on behalf of this university. It’s not going to happen. We need to continue to work with the strategic budget committee and we need to adhere to the overall goals of the strategic plan. We need to constantly review and constantly adhere to those principles.

So how do we meet those challenges? And there are many more, those are just a few.

First, we need to communicate better. That starts with me. Not only from the Office of the President, but all offices up, down, and across the Univeristy.

Number two, we need to share the credit. It doesn’t matter who gets the credit. If it’s a good idea, UCA is going to win. If it’s a crummy idea, we know what the results are going to be or if it’s a crummy proposal, we know where that’s going to end up.

Number three, we need to recruit aggressively. We need to get the best students we can get from this state, and this region of the country and all over the globe.

Number four, we need to advise and teach effectively. We are already doing that.  What does that mean? That means when students graduate from this place, they would have engaged in critical thinking, they will be armed with skills for whatever they may do in this life. They’re armed with the knowledge to gain employment, to improve our society, and work in a global economy.

I teach one course in the summer. I tell my students “I want to make you dangerous. I want you to be a dangerous person when you get out of this joint.” They look at me and ask: “Why?” Because I want you to be able to know enough to ask questions, and if something’s not right, you try to fix it. That’s what I mean by dangerous. So I want them to be dangerous in a good sense, when they leave our faculty. We teach effectively, we advise effectively, we’ve got to keep it up.

Number five, we’ve got to manage our finances efficiently. We are doing that, and we are going to continue to do that.

Number six, we must conduct ourselves ethically, and we will.

Number seven, there will be honest disagreements over procedures and policies of this university, and that’s helpful. No problem at all. We are not here to squelch speech and we are certainly not here to squelch ideas or thoughts. But, let’s resolve to ourselves, and more importantly, to our students and our alums, that whatever our differences, we exist to serve our students. Let’s keep our differences civil. Let’s discuss them. Let’s resolve them. And always remember, that each day we come to work, wherever we are and whatever we do, we are the face of UCA.

We are the face of UCA when you face that couple with their child or their loved one from Texarkana or West Memphis or wherever they may be. We are the face of UCA when you post something on Facebook. We are the face of UCA when we tweet, whatever that is. But every single thing we do, it’s not just me, we are all, each of us, individually, the face of this university.

Finally, to paraphrase David McCullough, who is my favorite historian, in his biography about Harry Truman he came up with six things about Truman’s life. The bottom line is this, each day: work hard, do your best, tell the truth, don’t pretend to be somebody you’re not, believe in something or someone other than yourself and have no fear.

So as we go forward, through this semester and this calendar year, let’s try to adhere to those principles. And I submit to you, that everything else is going to take care of itself. This is a great place, each of you know that, we all know that. The students who come here know that, their families know that. In all the trouble, in all the trials, all the tribulations that we’ve had all over the last few years, when you talk to people whose loved ones actually go here, or the students who are actually here on our campus, they don’t care. So, as long as we don’t lose sight of why we are here, and as long as we try to stick to these principles in whatever manner you want to try to stick to them, the University of Central Arkansas is going to be fine.

UCA officials are working diligently to complete a monitoring report tied to the university’s accreditation the UCA Board of Trustees learned during its meeing on Jan. 23.

In August 2010, the Institutional Actions Council of the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools approved a visiting team’s recommendation to accredit the univeristy for seven years. However, the university had to submit a monitoring report to the commission by May 1.

Dr. Neil Hattlestad, co-chairman of the Higher Learning Commission Response Steering Committee, reported to the trustees that the university has made great strides in completing the monitoring report.

Members of the steering response committee have been assigned sections of the report, Hattlestad said. They have been working with their constituencies to address areas of concern. Status reports have been posted online. A draft monitoring report will be posted for campus review and suggestions.

The monitoring report must update the commission on the status of the university’s strategic plan. It must also address several areas including diversity, shared governance, transparent communication, and assessment.

In February 2010, representatives from the faculty, staff, and student body began working on a strategic plan that focuses on the university’s core values, mission, vision and institutional distinctiveness. The Board of Trustees approved the strategic plan in May.

In other business:

*the board clarified the compensation for UCA President Tom Courtway. Courtway will be reimbursed for expenses such as vehicle mileage, parking expenses and meals. A motion by the board in December did not include reimbursement of expenses as a part of Courtway’s compensation.

* the board approved allowing representatives from the Faculty Senate, Student Government Association and Staff Senate to ask questions about action items on the agenda at each board meeting. This would increase involvement of the various campus groups in discussions.

* the board approved a resolution allowing the administration to purchase equipment necessary for a backup, off-site operation for data and data recovery in the event of a fire or natural disaster. The cost of the equipment is $268,000. The off-site operation will be temporarily housed at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The former Arkansas Department of Emergency Management property owned by the university will serve as the permanent location for the off-campus data operation once the facility is renovated. The board authorized the administration to hire and retain architects and engineers for the project.

*the board approved several changes to Board of Trustees fund. The name of the fund has been changed to the “Board of Trustees – University Improvement Fund.” Beginning July 1, the fund will be capped at $200,000. Also, the fund will only be used for capital projects and projects deemed to be in the best interest of the university and consistent with the overall educational mission of the university. Also, the board approved allocating $25,000 from the fund for Baum Gallery in memory of the late Dr. Harold Chakales, a member of the Board of Trustees who died on Dec. 13, 2011.

* the board also heard a report on the status of the university’s strategic enrollment management and master facilities plans.

* trustees welcomed new board members Elizabeth Farris and Brad Lacy. Farris replaces Dr. Harold Chakales, who died in December. Her appointment expires January 14, 2014. She graduated from UCA with a bachelor of business administration degree in 1977. She has served two terms on the UCA Foundation Board and was a member of the UCA Alumni Board. Farris, the daughter of the late UCA President Jeff Farris, is the executive vice president of Regions Bank in Hot Springs. Lacy replaces Randy Sims on the board. His appointment expires January 14, 2019. Lacy graduated from UCA in 1994 with a bachelor of science degree in geography. He is the immediate past president of the UCA Foundation Board. He also served on the UCA Alumni Board. Lacy is the president and chief executive officer of Conway Area Chamber of Commerce.

Governor Mike Beebe announced today the appointment of Elizabeth Farris of Hot Springs and Brad Lacy of Conway to the University of Central Arkansas Board of Trustees.

Farris will replace Dr. Harold Chakales. Her appointment expires January 14, 2014. She graduated from UCA with a bachelor of business administration degree in 1977. She has served two terms on the UCA Foundation Board and was a member of the UCA Alumni Board. Farris, the daughter of the late UCA President Jeff Farris, is the executive vice president of Regions Bank in Hot Springs.

Lacy will replace Randy Sims on the board. His appointment expires January 14, 2019. Lacy graduated from UCA in 1994 with a bachelor of science degree in geography. He is the immediate past president of the UCA Foundation Board. He also served on the UCA Alumni Board. Lacy is the president and chief executive officer of Conway Area Chamber of Commerce.

Both are longtime donors and members of the President’s Club.

“We all appreciate Governor Beebe appointing Elizabeth Farris and Brad Lacy to our Board of Trustees,” said UCA President Tom Courtway. “These two professionals are alums of this university and they have both worked tirelessly in many capacities for UCA for many years.”

“We congratulate them,” Courtway continued. “We look forward to working with them and the other members of the Board of Trustees for the citizens of this state, and the students, faculty and staff of the University of Central Arkansas.”

The University of Central Arkansas Foundation is pleased to announce the creation of the Jeremy Duplessis UCA Police Department Student Assistance Fund. This fund was created in memoriam and honor of Jeremy Duplessis, a former officer of the UCA Police Department who served the UCA campus community from 2005 to 2009.

This scholarship, started by his sister Jeannine Hamilton, was created to assist the officers and employees of the UCA Police Department and their children in being able to further their education.

“UCAPD officers faithfully serve the UCA campus community everyday by ensuring the safety of all who visit, are educated and work on the campus,” said Hamilton.

Officer Jeremy Duplessis was born in New Orleans but spent most of his life in Poplarville, Miss. At just 33 years old, he passed away in March 2011 after being struck by a reckless driver. Throughout his short but full life he believed in helping and serving others in every way possible, giving his time and attention to anyone who asked. He has served as a US Army soldier, a pharmacy technician, a handy man, a mechanic, an instructor, a wonderful brother, uncle and loving son.

Through this new endowed fund, Officer Duplessis will continue his legacy of service by assisting his fellow officers’ educational endeavors, which in turn continues to serve the UCA campus community.

“This gift and the creation of the endowed student assistance fund is a great honor to Jeremy. We are profoundly grateful for Jeremy’s service to our campus community and for this very generous gift from Jeannine,” said UCA Police Chief Larry James. “Jeremy proudly wore the uniform and was unselfishly committed to his work and the university. He enriched the lives of all he touched through his compassion and willingness to become involved in the concerns of others.”

For more information on donating to the Jeremy Duplessis UCA Police Department Student Assistance Fund, contact the UCA Foundation at (501) 450-5288 or toll free (800) 981-4426

The University of Central Arkansas has received a $10,000 grant that will help bridge the gender gap in computer science.

NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund grant will help build a more female-friendly environment for computing majors by recruiting a first-year cohort of women and retaining them with opportunities for learning, research, service and leadership. The grant is funded by the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) and Microsoft Research.

UCA was one of five universities that received the grant for 2012. Other schools receiving the grant were the University of Virginia, Fisk University, Claremont Graduate University and Union College.

“This project will not only directly recruit female students into computer science, but it is designed to provide a support and mentoring network for them once they matriculate at UCA,” said Steven Runge, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “This is a critical component in the plan that will help retain these students through to graduation and into graduate programs and careers in the computing fields.”

Chenyi Hu, chairperson and professor of the computer science department; Yu Sun, associate professor of computer science; and Karen Thessing, lecturer of computer science, were the authors of the grant. They will lead this project, but all members of the department will be involved in recruiting, Runge said.

The project also will involve the students in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Residential College and students involved with the Computer Science Club.

NCWIT and Microsoft Research have awarded $365,450 in funding to 29 universities and colleges since 2007. To learn more about UCA’s Computer Science program, visit uca.edu/computerscience – Lisa Burnett

A walking and biking path for the UCA and the Conway community is expected to be finished on Aug. 30.  The Stone Dam Creek Trail is being funded by a $234,000 grant that the Physical Plant received on June 20, 2011 from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department and $86,225 provided by UCA.

“UCA students, faculty and staff can use it as a get away or to relax and ponder their thoughts,” Larry Lawrence, director of the Physical Plant said. “Students in biology classes and other areas can use it to better access experimental areas related to their classes.”

The trail will make UCA more pedestrian friendly in the way that it adds a place where pedestrians can walk or bike without intrusion of vehicular traffic.

“It is nice to be able to add another feature to the campus that benefits all who choose to use this area,” Lawrence said.

The trail will be located west of Reynolds Performance Hall and is out of the way of roads and streets. Stone Dam Creek is the major drainage for a watershed in Conway and originates about five miles upstream before emptying into Lake Conway, according to the Ecological Conservation Organization’s website. – Lisa Burnett

The University Safety Committee is seeking information from the community about safety issues around campus.

The committee had been dormant for a few years, but was reactivated in 2011 to address concerns, said Arch Jones, director of organizational and community services at the UCA Police Department and a member of the committee. 

The committee is an advisory group charged to identify and help address safety conditions on the UCA campus. The committee will review any existing or potential hazard that could affect students, faculty and staff and foster an environment free from unreasonable risk.

“The committee wants the campus to know that they have a way to communicate issues to the committee,”   Jones said.

Once  the input is received from a campus community source, the Safety Committee determines if it will be handled departmentally or if the committee needs to investigate further and put together a subcommittee to address that situation, he added.

UCA Police Chief Larry James is the chairman of the University Safety Committee.

“We envision the University Safety Committee to be the campus community’s single point of contact to convey issues and risks in regard to environmental health and safety,” James said. “We want our students, faculty and staff to know that this will be a campus community driven committee that wants to hear from them. UCA is a safe campus and by working together, we can help make UCA a safer place to work, live and learn.”

The Safety Committee has three standing subcommittees — Accident Review Subcommittee, Promotion Subcommittee and the Campus Community Input Subcommittee. The complete list of the members of the University Safety Committee  is available online.

Individuals who have concerns regarding environmental health and safety can email the committee at mysafety@uca.edu, or contact one of the committee members directly. – Lisa Burnett

Two volunteers with the Faulkner County Juvenile Court have been recognized for their service and commitment to help improve the lives of young people.

Neil Rutman, an associate professor of piano, and UCA graduate student Mia Gordon have been named “MLK Drum Majors for Service.” “MLK Drum Majors for Service” are volunteers who perform extraordinary acts of service, but who seldom receive recognition.

Rutman and Gordon were recently presented the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for their service. Judge Rhonda Wood, the 20th District Circuit Judge for Faulkner County, presented Rutman and Gordon the award and a letter from President Obama. Judge Wood nominated both for the award.

The presentations were made Jan. 19 and Jan. 20 during two ceremonies at the University of Central Arkansas campus.

Rutman and Gordon dedicated more than 300 hours last year working with the youth.

Rutman serves as a role model and mentor for young males who are in the court system. He organized a boxing club for youth more than a year ago.

“I’m very honored and surprised,” Rutman said after receiving the award. “The county asked me to organize a boxing club because I’m the coach for the university boxing club, so I did. We started out with three [members] and we ended up with 12.”

Rutman has made a tremendous impact on the youth through his dedication and caring, said Judge Wood.

“He is an incredibly humble and giving person,” she added.

Gordon facilitates the court’s Teen Girls Book Club. She also supervises the court’s tutoring program. She most recently coordinated and conducted a workshop on dating and domestic violence.

Gordon has gone above and beyond to help the girls, Judge Wood said.

“She has really been amazing,” she said.

Gordon plans to continue her work with youth after completing her master’s degree in community counseling.

“This is kind of overwhelming,” Gordon said about the award. “This is something that I really enjoy doing.”

 

After nearly four decades of in the classroom, James Brodman has officially retired from teaching in the Department of History.

Although the list of Brodman’s achievements is extensive, one that has affected the university the most was his part in helping found the Honors College.

The Honors College’s goal is to recruit academically talented and motivated students to UCA and engage them through enhanced educational opportunities in a living/learning environment designed to develop their capacities as citizen-scholars.

“I was one of the founders of the Honors College. The Honors College is credited with bringing lots of very capable students to UCA. Thinking back, we’ve always had some very good students here,” said Brodman.

Rick Scott, dean of the Honors College, said that Brodman’s impact of his long and prosperous career at UCA will be manifest for many decades to come in the lives and successes of his students.

“Jim Brodman and Norb Schedler were part of a team of arts and sciences faculty that inaugurated the UCA Honors College nearly 30 years ago, and I appreciate Dr. Brodman’s efforts in its founding,” Scott said.

Brodman graduated from the University of Virginia with his doctorate in Medieval History, and began his employment as an assistant professor at UCA in 1972.

Brodman, who has worked under four presidents, has seen a lot of changes in the university and the city of Conway since he has lived here.

“I came in 1972, and the student population was probably 3,000 to 4,000. I always tell people that Conway had four full traffic lights,” Brodman said. “Coming from the east coast to a small southern town where no one locked their doors freaked me out for a little while. It was a very different experience.”

Brodman’s wife, who has been retired for the past two years, is one of the reasons he is retiring this year.

“She’s been bugging me to retire, so I finally decided that she was right,” Brodman said.

Brodman plans to continue teaching through cruise ship lectures during his retirement.

“People don’t go into academics to get rich, but the wonderful part of this profession is that it enables you to do something that you enjoy, and it gives you a great deal of independence without the necessity of having to run your own business,” Brodman said. – Lisa Burnett

The Instructional Development Center is proud to announce a successful kick-off to the Thank-A-Teacher program. An announcement was made just prior to the Thanksgiving break about this new program. This program provides an avenue for students to send a brief note of thanks to any faculty member who has made a positive impact on them.

 Thank-A-Teacher does not take the place of university student evaluations.

The form was left open for student submissions until after the close of the fall semester. Many UCA students submitted a brief note of appreciation to various UCA faculty through the Thank-A-Teacher website.

After classes began this spring, the Instructional Development Center sent 138 “Thank you’s” to 120 different faculty members representing each college. For those of us who love numbers, here’s the breakdown:

– 138 “Thank Yous” Submitted

– 77 Different Students Identified by Name, 19 Submitted Anonymously for a Total of up to 96 Students

– 120 Different Faculty Thanked

– Average Number of “Thanks” Received Per College: 19.7

 

The IDC looks forward to sponsoring this program again this spring. Students will receive an announcement later this semester.